our nation’s unhealthy children

Lest you think that I am a lone voice who is sensationalizing a small problem, you need to read the brand new article from Time Magazine called Young Kids, Old Bodies.  Although I cannot say that I was shocked, reading about the sheer magnitude and numbers of children dealing with diseases that have historically been thought of as adult diseases of lifestyle (DIABETES, HIGH CHOLESTEROL, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, OBESITY, many of the INFLAMMATORY or AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, etc, etc, etc), was frankly quite depressing.  Especially knowing that as a nation, we are teetering on the brink of financial insolvency.  My best guess is that our government (ACA) has underestimated future health costs by at least 10 times — probably more.

The article in Time dealt extensively with the health problems that millions of school aged kids are going through, which are very different than what previous generations went through.  Remember back when the worst health issue kids faced was acne (HERE)?  Doctors who were interviewed for the article talked at length about the seriousness of this problem.  One thing that really stood out to me was their saying they could not tell the blood work of unhealthy kids from the blood work of unhealthy adults who were 30 – 40 years older.   I am not going to go into detail here, but it would be worth your time to take 10 or 15 minutes to read the article.

Honestly, the craziest part of the entire thing was not the kids.  The truth is, if you leave children to their own devices, most will do exactly what they are currently doing — sitting around, eating junk, and watching 8-10 hours of screens a day.  No, the problem is not really the kids.  The problem is the parents who are not doing something about this prior to the radical step of putting their kid(s) on the MEDICAL MERRY-GO-ROUND.  The advice that I gave parents a couple of years ago, rings more true today than ever.  “Seems like most of this stuff is just plain old common sense.   Just take a deep breath and repeat after me, “I am the parent.  I am the parent“.  Now, go make the changes that need to be made!  The day will come that your children thank you for it.  If they are little, they will never really know the difference” (from a 2012 post on ADHD).

Listen up folks.  You are the parent.  If you put any sort of value on your health or the health of your family, it may be time to go to lifestyle boot camp.  Fail to change, and you will never be anything more to Big Pharma / Corporate Medicine than what you really are —- a commodity —- a walking, breathing, dollar sign —- a person whose health issues are severe enough that you are looked at by multiple entities as a lifetime source of income.   Start clicking the links and educate yourself.  Knowledge is power.  Learn what it will take to get your family moving in a healthy direction.  No go and do it!  HEALTHY CHILDREN can be a reality if you change the way you are living.

Oh; for those of you who were wondering, the pic at the top left is of a teenage male.