Kids Gain More Weight on Summer Vacation Than in School?
It seems counterintuitive, at least to me, that school age kids would gain more weight in the off-school months when they would (you’d think) be running about outdoors, doing things like swimming and biking and other physical activities, and presumably eating more light foods that one craves in the summer like fruits and light dairies.
But that is not the case according to a sociological study recently completed. The studies show that, contrary to popular thought, school time may actually be of more benefit when it comes to controlling kid’s weight than summer vacation months.
Some of the thoughts on why this might be are that the school year contains more of a structured schedule, with scheduled eating, and even snack times, a schedule recess, gym time and physical activities, and other things to keep kids occupied and keep their minds off snacking and food.
Also, with the advent of the video game, and some parents letting their kids lounge and watch tv all day, the thought is that these kids are not getting physcial activity in the summer like the kids of yesteryear, because there are too many indoor activities that are available to kids today that do not involve movement and are highly addictive.
Hmm, maybe the solution is to get them interactive physical video games like Dance Dance Revolution?
