As you ride along the streets of Greenwood, you will see many people bundled up with their headphones on over toboggans, scarves around their necks and tennis shoes laced up, going for a brisk walk in the freezing temperatures.
Just ride by the Wellness Center at Greenwood Leflore Hospital in the early morning or late evening. Through the windows you will see people, who choose a warmer climate to exercise, hoofing it on treadmills and lifting weights in order to fulfill that promise to get into shape in 2008.
This is the time of year when everyone makes a New Year's resolution to slim down.
Fitness facilities and weight-loss centers probably make the lion's share of their profit in the first three months of the year.
The memberships at Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem or other weight-loss centers have probably quadrupled from what they were just a month ago, as we all were stuffing our faces with that rich, fattening holiday cuisine.
I know. I have been one of those people who year after year would make that resolution, only to have it fall by the wayside after a couple of months.
But here in Mississippi, and the Delta in particular, we should be watching our weight every day. We are in one of the most obese regions in the nation, and diabetes and heart disease are rampant. And that goes for everyone, including the children.
Almost a third of the children in the nation are considered overweight or obese.
In talking with pediatricians here in Greenwood, I have found they are beginning to see hypertension and adult onset diabetes in children, something that was rare once upon a time. That is scary.
With a life span that is already shrinking, what can we expect for future generations?
So we can't afford to let the healthy routine take a wrong turn after only a few months into the year. And we can't just limit it to the adults. We have to strive to make the children healthier as well.
Having fought with a weight problem since my early teens, I have gone up and down on the scales so many times I can't begin to count. That's not good in some ways because it can really mess up your metabolism. Now the weight is a lot harder to get off and keep off.
So in 2008, I am attempting to get myself on a healthy schedule and make it a way of life, not just a two- or three-month resolution that I won't keep.
The thing that raised my awareness more than anything about the obesity epidemic in our state and nation is work I have done and am doing on childhood obesity.
The issue is near and dear to my heart, and if I can help one child keep from growing up and being overweight like me, it will be worth it.
One of the biggest problems in our society, for both adults and children, is our sedentary lifestyles.
Kids can sit on the couch playing their video games, call and order a pizza and have it delivered and never step foot outside the door.
What happened to the days when children played outside until dark, when their parents had to make them come inside to go to bed?
As I worked on a series about childhood obesity in 2007, I learned some interesting things about behaviors and how they affect a child's weight. I would like to share a few of these with you.
One study in particular had some interesting data. The South Carolina Rural Health Research Center did a national study on “Overweight and Physical Inactivity Among Rural Children Aged 10-17.” Here are a few of its findings.
In 2003, 30.6 percent of U.S. children aged 10 to 17 were overweight, 14.8 percent of which were obese, and rural children (16.5 percent) were more likely to be obese than urban children (14.4 percent).
Black children (41.2 percent) were more likely to be overweight than Hispanic (38 percent) and white children (26.7 percent). A similar pattern was observed for obesity; nearly one in four black children were obese (23.6 percent) versus 19 percent for Hispanic children and 12 percent for white children.
The study went on to show how, as family income increased, the proportion of children who were overweight decreased significantly among both rural and urban residents.
Eating healthier typically costs more, which is a major concern in the Delta with so many low-income families. But with so many obese children in our area, we have to find some solutions.
Children living in the South were most likely to be overweight or obese at 33.1 percent followed by the Midwest at 30.2 percent, the Northeast at 29.5 percent and the West at 28.1 percent.
Luckily, Mississippi has passed legislation that mandates schools to provide healthier snacks for children, and physical education has been added back into the curriculum. But good eating and exercise habits have to be reinforced at home. It's not up to the schools to keep our children healthy. It's up to the parents.
The South Carolina study also showed that one out of four children, or 28.6 percent of those age 10 to17, failed to meet the recommended physical activity levels - that is, not participating in moderate or vigorous exercises for at least 20 minutes three or more days per week.
One last interesting fact regarded the importance of eating a meal together as a family.
Overweight and obese rural children were less likely to eat together as a family three or fewer days per week than other rural children. And among rural children, blacks were more likely to eat together as a family than whites or Hispanics.
Sitting down to a home-cooked, well-balanced meal at least three times a week will make everyone in the family healthier. When there is no meal planning and thought put into purchasing food, it is a lot easier to eat the wrong things or just decide to get takeout. We, unfortunately, have become a fast-food society.
From the region we live in to the money we make to how many times we sit down as a family to eat. all affects our weight.
Let's do all we can in 2008 to lead healthier lives. If we don't start now, can you imagine what the future generations will be dealing with? It will lead to more health problems at increasingly earlier ages, increased insurance rates and lower productivity for business and industry. It will cost us one way or another.
We just have to ask ourselves if continuing on our current path is worth it. I think not.
