To the Editor:
Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood obesity won’t work unless we start focusing on children’s free play, which has shriveled as their weight has ballooned.
We have to get kids moving again, but organized sports and exercise programs aren’t the answer. Emphasize activity, not exercise, say the Mayo Clinic’s obesity experts. Research backs them up. A Canadian study found that “encouraging free play has been more effective than focusing on forced exercise or reducing food intake” in combating obesity in children.
Turn off the TV, throw away the video games, and take the kids to the playground. It wouldn’t hurt us adults to play more either.
Edward Miller
New York, Feb. 10, 2010
The writer is founding partner and senior researcher, Alliance for Childhood.
Note from KBJ: My brothers and I didn't have any problem staying fit. Our mother told us to get outside and play. We also had chores to do.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 