The Evolution of a Lazy America

The Evolution of a Lazy America

When I was a kid we had a neighborhood game of capture the flag every Sunday night. All of the kids in the neighborhood, boys and girls, would get together and take over two or three yards for the game. When the streetlights came on we would go home sweaty messes.

Today I see kids having each other over to play video games. They send text messages, instant message each other and chat with Facebook friends. How often do you see kids outside running around with a football, playing tag, or walking to a friend’s house? I realize the technology wasn’t the same during my childhood as it is today. Nobody had cell phones and the internet was still developing, but when did things change? When did people become so lazy?

We live in a world of conveniences. We have drive through everything, from fast food restaurants and banks to liquor stores and pharmacies. We have technology that allows us to go through our daily activities with as little human interaction as possible. In the course of a day you barely need to get out of your car or interact with people face to face. What’s wrong with this picture? Are our lives better today with all these conveniences? Do they bring us better health and more free time?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, recommends that kids ages 9-15 get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily. Unfortunately, as time goes by fewer and fewer kids are getting enough activity (see Table 1). The number of overweight kids is climbing at a staggering rate. Why? How is it that with all of these conveniences and all of this technology that we don’t have time to park the car and walk into a store? How did we as a society become so busy that we don’t have time to help our children to be more active?

Our lapse in judgment regarding the importance of activity for our children has led this country into an era where obesity is an epidemic. Adults lead by example and we have dropped the ball when it comes to physical activity. According to the CDC obesity results in an estimated 400,000 deaths yearly, and is costing our country nearly $123 billion annually. I hope I’m not the only person who thinks those figures are asinine. This all seems like a stupid problem for the most powerful country in the world to be having.

Can you make the time to do something good for yourself now?

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

Introduction

My name is Bryan Corley and I am one of the trainers at Mick Doyle’s Kickboxing and Fitness Center. Welcome to my blog. We want to create a forum to discuss healthy living, fitness and overall well-being. Readers won’t always agree with the things said here, but they don’t have to. I hope to hear what people have to say in response to each entry. Today I’ll give a bit of information about me so people better understand where I’m coming from.

I’m passionate about exercise. I exercise to feel and look good but it has helped me relieve stress, lower anxiety and develop a sense of calm. Like anybody else I can have a bad day and nothing helps me more to get rid of the negativity of a bad day than to kick my own butt in the gym. It helps my mind and body to feel and perform better.

Diabetes, heart disease and cancer all run in my family, so being fit and taking care of myself is my way of trying to avoid genetics. I have always been involved with athletics, playing football, basketball, running track and diving in high school, but at age 19 was looking to try something new. I had studied both Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido, but wasn’t satisfied. I began as a student of Mick’s in the fall of 1999, and instantly fell in love with Muay Thai. I started competing shortly after being at the gym and have found my way to U.S. National titles for both the ISKA and the IKF. Through my training I learned how to fight, but more importantly how to live a balanced life. Preparation for a fight takes a lot of time and energy so I had to learn about proper nutrition, strength training and time management. I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to teach at the gym, but would like to expand the number of people I help to expose to a healthier life. I hope this blog helps me to do just that….