AT A RECENT “Food Is Medicine Summit” hosted by HHS, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack shared his personal problems growing up as an overweight child. Leaders of the USDA and FDA noted efforts the Biden administration is making to help Americans eat healthier.
One of the efforts the USDA has made is to encourage all states to offer a summer feeding program. Vilsack said it’s hard to understand why 15 states will not participate in such programs.
Even if they did, diet alone is not the answer. Starting right would need to include an exercise program. And starting right would need to begin at birth with exercise and appropriate diet. The first six years are the most important time to build good habits of all kinds.
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD noted that “Amazingly to me, doctors are still listed by people as the most trusted source for nutritional information, which seems a little weird since medical education includes very little about nutrition.”
I say, that goes for exercise too. But it also shows how little the American public knows about the education of doctors. So if we were really going to do this right nutrition and physical fitness for the young should begin in medical schools with training for gynecologists, obstetricians and pediatricians.
This should be said of teachers too. There is little if any nutritional or physical fitness education training given to elementary school teachers in their four years of college.
In addition to decent food, little bodies need release from daily stress. A few minutes of meaningful classroom exercise throughout the day would result in better focus and learning, less fidgeting, and fewer behavior problems.
The Physical Fitness Level Of A Child…
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Is related to his ability to learn in the classroom
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Affects his performance on the playground and in turn, his standing with his peers
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Is related to his emotional stability
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Is related to his ability to release tension quickly, efficiently and completely. This in turn affects behavior in the classroom
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Has a bearing on his ability to read
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Will affect his attendance in the class
Why are we not focusing on preventing rather than fixing? The things that make us fit and well-rounded are entirely missing from the education of those who are in charge of us: physical education, nutrition, art, and music.
What it comes down to is that WE are in charge of ourselves and our families. If WE don’t do it no one else is going to. Bonnie Prudden gave us the tools to one crucial part, PHYSICAL FITNESS for everyone starting with fitness from the cradle.
Anyone wishing to know more about how movement affects learning can go to the following link to learn about the study which Bonnie has cited in her Fitness from Six to Twelve book: Learning to Move, Moving to Learn? | Psychology Today.
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If you have questions or need help, email me at enid@bonnieprudden.com.
For more information about Bonnie Prudden®, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, workshops, books, self-help tools, DVDs, educational videos, and blogs, visit www.bonnieprudden.com. Or call 520-299-8064 if you have questions or need help. Enid Whittaker, Managing Director, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®