URGENT: Ask the White House to Include Nature in the Child Obesity Campaign
The First Lady needs to hear from you. Right now. This just in from Patrick Fitzgerald, Director of Education Advocacy National Wildlife Federation: “We have an opportunity today and tomorrow (Thu, 3/25 and Fri, 3/26 through midnight) to provide public comments about First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign and urge the newly created Task Force on Childhood Obesity to consider active time outdoors (play, recreation, etc.) as a key tool in addressing the obesity epidemic. The Task Force is exploring four pillars and we believe that active time outdoors fits well under the increasing physical activity in schools and communities category. Here’s what you can do to help! …. Consider submitting a comment as an individual, on behalf of your organization, working together with a coalition — whatever works for you…” Click here to make your voice heard.
Click here to read C&NN’s letter to the Task Force on Childhood Obesity.
Updated 3/25/10
Those of us who care about the future of our children and the human relationship with the natural world should applaud First Lady Michelle Obama’s call for a ” Let’s Move” campaign to reverse the trend toward child obesity. We particularly like her statement that when she was young, ” we spent hours running around outside, we couldn’t go inside until dinner.”
In the past, the national conversation about child obesity has seldom mentioned getting outside in nature as part of the solution. We’re hoping that changes, and as the ” Let’s Move” campaign evolves, it will give far greater attention to children’s independent play, particularly in natural surroundings.
As Joan Almon and Ed Miller of the Alliance for Childhood point out, the announcement of the creation of a federal task force on childhood ” emphasizes nutrition, physical activity and parent engagement, but it does not mention unstructured play.” They add, ” Too often, “physical activity” means adult-organized exercise or sports. Research shows these are not as effective in getting children moving as child-directed play. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Mayo Clinic recommend free play as the most promising strategy for combating obesity.”
It’s important to acknowledge that the greatest increase in child obesity in our history occurred during the same decades as the greatest increase in organized sports for children. Soccer is good, and part of an overall solution, but we do need a wider array of approaches—including a greater focus on nature experience, and better message framing. A growing body of research has links nature experience and “green exercise” to surprisingly broad and special benefits, including more likelihood of physical activity, greater use of the imagination and the senses, enhanced ability to focus, stress reduction, and cognitive advantages. Researchers in England and Sweden have found that joggers who exercise in a natural green setting with trees, foliage, and landscape views, feel more restored, and less anxious, angry, and depressed than people who burn the same amount of calories in gyms or other built settings. Green exercise not only adds value to physical movement, it’s less expensive than joining a gym.
We believe that natural areas — whether nature-oriented back yards, natural play spaces, nature-oriented urban parks, or state and national parks — are places where children are most likely to gain the benefits of both unstructured play and the gifts of nature, and should be seen as fundamental to addressing child obesity. Making sure that urban neighborhoods have sidewalks for walking is important. But so is the provision of nearby nature.
An important study published in 2008 has pointed to a relationship between child obesity and nearby nature: the greener the neighborhood, the lower the Body Mass Index of children — regardless of a neighborhood’s population density. The researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and the University of Washington, examined the medical records of three- to sixteen-year- old children that lived in Marion County, Indiana. “Previous work, including our own, has provided snap shots in time, and shown that for children in densely populated cities, the greener the neighborhood, the lower the risk of obesity. Our new study of over 3,800 inner city children revealed that living in areas with green space has a long term positive impact on children’s weight and thus health,’ said Gilbert C. Liu, M.D., senior author of the study which appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
That’s good news for those who believe that changing the built environment for inner city kids is just as important as attempts to change family behavior — and possibly more important.
Clearly, the causes and solutions of obesity are complex, and there are no magic bullets. But as the society moves toward solutions, it would be useful to focus on nature experience at two levels. First we need more research on the impact of the natural world on child development and health. Second, growing public concern about the disconnect between children and nature can serve as a strong organizing tool to increase public awareness and action regarding child obesity. To many adults, particularly those who are overweight themselves, the topic of child obesity, per se, may be an abstract and uncomfortable issue to confront. Progress may be especially slow in states where the majority of the adult populations are overweight or obese. But people of all sizes and political points of view can relate to the fact that so many children are missing out on the gifts of nature. Therefore, the children and nature movement has a special utility on the child obesity front.
Fear is a barrier. But there’s more than one way to get kids outside playing in nature. The United Kingdom has taken the lead on proposing that families meet together in ” green gyms” to take hikes, restore urban streams, garden, and pursue other nature-oriented activities. Australia is also doing a good job on this front. In the U.S., the Children & Nature Network is promoting Family Nature Clubs, through which families decide to meet for green exercise and nature adventures. Fifty-nine clubs have emerged in recent months, some of them with memberships of several hundred families each. What if that idea caught on, just as book clubs did in past decades?
Regarding these clubs, we’re not talking about parents hovering over kids with nature flash cards. In fact, the leaders of these family nature clubs tell us that kids do tend to play independently during these outings — in the same way that the First Lady described, spending ” hours running around outside…”
We applaud the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign — but we urge the Childhood Obesity Task Force to place even more focus on independent play and the natural world.
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More Information
• A discussion on childhood obesity and the natural world.
• Linking improvement in child obesity to nearby nature in urban neighborhoods.
• American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on independent play.
• C&NN and partners launch Nature Rocks campaign to help parents get their families outside in nature.
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Richard Louv is chairman of the Children and Nature Network. He is the author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.”
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I couldn’t agree with you more. As a mom who inspires families to spend time outside, I created my company because I have seen my own family become more active, healthy, and happier with daily time in nature.
Well said. As an inner city elementary school teacher, I’m shocked at the children who are obese and hardly ever explore the outdoors. Also, with the number of children here with ADHD, getting them outdoors more would be even better.
Well, the White House might not include it, however, it is mandatory in my diet, health, and lifestyle book. And, we have examples: http://www.feedyourheaddiet.com/nature-and-health.html
I believe that kids playing more outside in their neighborhoods is the key solution to not only the child obesity problem, but also to a whole host of other problems afflicting children in America today (e.g. depression, lack of independent thinking, etc.).
Lastly, making this happen *is* very doable. See my web site, Playborhood.com, for lots more on this. Also, check out my article on my disappointment with the First Lady’s glaring omission:
Why Has Michelle Obama Given Up on Free Play in Neighborhoods?
One of the best ways to fight childhood obesity is to get them outdoors. And there are even more rewards than that. Check out Children in Nature and please include “No Child Left Indoors”
I couldn’t agree more. I was blessed to grow up in the mountains where all we did was run free in the great outdoors. We were happy and healthy. As a mom I encourage my kids to spend time in nature, be it in the yard, at the local parks, or lakes, or camping. When we are outdoors we are the most active and happy.
Richard,
I already did let Obama’s staff know children’s play in nature is critical and my website shows why
Today we have become a society where we live with technology, drive everywhere, experience high stress and many have settled for that sedentary lifestyle. Children bounce back and forth between unlimited hours of television viewing, computer use, and video game playing. All this down time adds up and before you know it so has their weight. As parents, and teachers we must incorporate regular exercise for students without health conditions but especially for students that do have health conditions. Not only does exercise benefit children for weight control, but also avoiding obesity as a child, will help avoid obesity as an adult. We have to provide quality “unlimited time” for our children outdoors, let them ride bikes, climb trees, and play with sidewalk chalk. And if you have really put the outdoors as a priority for your family when you say you are going camping or hiking your children when teenagers will say they can’t wait. Mine Do!
Recently I heard from my friend that in her child’s elementary school the Science Lab would be cut from next year. This year itself they had cut down on PE. This is a very sad state of affairs that is happening to our children. The other factor that compounds this problem is that parents put undue pressure on their children to acheive high academic scores so that they can get into good colleges. Lastly, we must not forget the rise in technological games that keep the children glued inside their homes. The “Let’s Move” campaign by First Lady Michelle Obama is a much needed movement needed with the high rise of childhood obesity. What I really liked is the emphasis on outdoor, unstructured play. This is a very valid point because inspite of the rise in organized sports, the problem of obesity is on the rise. We need to educate our parents and educators of the benefits of unstructured play time.
You say Mrs. Obama states “we spent hours running around outside, we couldn’t go inside until dinner†and I grew up the same way. Her statement goes to show how important it is that we as parents make our children play outside, even if they may not want to at first. So often children are told they are allowed to play until dinner, rather than being told they have to play until dinner. We give our younger children too many options and they aren’t choosing free play outside as something they love to do. You would think that with obesity being such a huge problem we would explore all avenues of alternatives to this problem, including nature based activities. The “unstructured” play is so important too because organzied sports nowadays include assigned snacks that parents have to bring for each game and they usually consist of sugary juices and candy, no wonder our kids are gaining weight fast.
I wish I could have wrote this in March when you needed people to reply to encourage Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move†campaign. I’m very excited for her and for the future of the next generations, because I think she can bring about change, especially since she is the First Lady. I also agree with you, that nature should be included when it comes to exercise. Both organized and unorganized sports seem to have there own advantages, but I do agree the bigger issue at hand is getting children outside on a daily bases for so many reasons not just obesity. It is sad what is happening around the world to the children of today, not eating the right food, not exercising, and not going outside. Everyone is consumed by computers and living a fast life. They don’t have anytime to slow down and think about what they are doing. I hope more people can get involved to bring change, even if it’s just in there own home.
Today, children are less active and less fit than before. One reason is due to increasing indoor activities, like watching TV and playing video games. The sedentary childhood leads to a high risk for obesity. Solutions for battling childhood obesity should include bringing children to nature. Unstructured natural activities offer comprehensive benefits to our children. I really agree with you about the special benefits of nature experience: “Including more likelihood of physical activity, greater use of the imagination and the senses, enhanced ability to focus, stress reduction, and cognitive advantages.†As a parent, I really appreciate this web site and the sharing of information and resources to help children reconnect with nature. “Green Exercise†like biking, camping, and hiking are all good outdoors activities that promote children‘s health and well being. Also it helps to lead families outdoors to create a bond with your kid. It’s good that The First Lady Michelle Obama has realized the importance of physical activities to obesity. We should remind her to add unstructured activities in nature to the childhood obesity campaign.
I totally agree with you Richard. I think nature needs to be in this push to decrease childhood obesity. You stated above that there is “A growing body of research has links nature experience and “green exercise†to surprisingly broad and special benefits, including more likelihood of physical activity, greater use of the imagination and the senses, enhanced ability to focus, stress reduction, and cognitive advantages.” I remember when I was in a child and i went to camp every Summer. It was so much fun. Let me just say that I wasn’t a “fat kid” but I wasn’t skinny. I was just an average boy that had that little bit of baggage as well. But every Summer I would leave for two weeks and when i got back I was always in better shape and looked and felt better. I lost weight! The reason is because at camp we had canoe rides, swam in the lake, played a huge game of tag and “battlefield” every other night after dinner. We went on hikes to lost waterfalls and ponds and we even had huge games if organized sports as well. the point here is that I lost weight and had fun at the same time, all because nature and fun were intertwined with exercise. It was one of the best times of my life and I will never forget it. But the key here is nature presents building blocks to keep children in better shape. The steepness of a mountain side and rough terrains allow our bodies to exert more and heart rates to go up, losing that extra baggage. Organized sports only get children so far and are “organized”. It is fun to just go on an adventure and experience nature and the natural world. Soccer and organized sports concentrate on a goal; while on the other hand, experiencing nature and using it for multiple reasons benefits everyone.
Richard,
First off I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with your push for on “green exercise” and the value to place on independent and unstructured play. “It’s important to acknowledge that the greatest increase in child obesity in our history occurred during the same decades as the greatest increase in organized sports for children,” is a quote that I feel really gets at your point on unstructured play. When I was younger I used to do a combination of both. First I did unstructured play with friends in a forest I used to live by. There was little concern for our safety simply because there was no real need to worry. We would play for hours and ignore (claiming ignorance of course) the calls of our parents telling us to come home for dinner or whatever else we had to do. I remember being outside surrounded by trees and friends being an amazing experience and probably some of the most fun I’ve had outdoors. Then I moved and there were no huge wooded areas so my parents signed me up for baseball, football (soccer), and all other kinds of organized leagues.
While this all fine and dandy for a while it eventually got boring and I began to lose interest and slowly picked up the remote and game controllers to pass the time and find entertainment. At the same time as all of this I was in the Boy Scouts and while I didn’t find much of it particularly thrilling or entertaining I did however love the camping and hiking. That also goes for when I went to summer camp. Doing all of the outdoor in a cabin kind of thing was my favorite. Archery, “war”, and exploring were some of the best times of my childhood.
Now I’m a bit older and while I am no longer running around with sticks pretending that I’m Robin Hood with my friends, or going to camp, I do still love to go on long walks, and I still find that along the creek I live by or on a trail to be the best places to do them.
It was just the freedom of it all. Supervised sports truly cannot entertain like the adventures dreamed up by kids that are truly amazing and all encompassing.
So while playing outside on a sports team is fun some of the time it simply cannot compete nor entertain most like running around in a forest can.
Many people today do live a certain lifestyle that involves technology in every aspect. It’s sad to see people do the simplest tasks that have to involve some sort of electronic device to get the task done. Obesity is definitely a big issue that is currently happening especially with children. Kids are the future of this country and in order for children to be the future they need to prolong a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore in order to prevent childhood obesity we need to get kids outdoors. I am aware with the fact that many parents and kids live very hectic lives, but in order to prevent childhood obesity we need to find the time to get outside and become involve in some kind of physical activity.