To the Editor: Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood obesity won’t work unless we start focusing on children’s free play, which has shriveled as their weight has ballooned.
We have to get kids moving again, but organized sports and exercise programs aren’t the answer.
Emphasize activity, not exercise, say the Mayo Clinic’s obesity experts. Research backs them up. A Canadian study found that “encouraging free play has been more effective than focusing on forced exercise or reducing food intake” in combating obesity in children.
NY Times, (Letter to the Editor by Edward Miller, Alliance for Childhood), 2/13/2010
Tags: Cardiology, Michelle Obama, Nutrition, obesity in children