Maybe someone should mention that to Canadian Olympic gold medalist Silken Laumann.
Silken, when criticizing Canada for not funding amateur athletics as an explanation for our early dearth of medals, jumped onto the obesity horse to try to ride her point home,
"We have this perception that we are into sports, that we're a sports-minded country, but when you look at it, inactivity and obesity are a real challenge to this country"Her comments spurred the Ottawa Citizen editorial board to readily agree and they stated that increasing funding for amateur athletics,
"not only would it increase the pool of future Olympians, but it would make a dent in rising obesity and diabetes rates."Well I've got news for Silken and the Citizen - the country with the most medals of the games also holds the global gold medal for the highest national obesity rates (USA) while the country in second (China), holds the gold medal for gaining weight faster than any other nation in the world.
As I've blogged about over and over and over again, energy-in matters far more to obesity rates than energy-out.
I'd love to chat with Silken about this one day, as over the course of the past two years she's been quoted over and over and over again linking Canada's childhood obesity problem with a lack of sport. Unfortunately in so doing, Silken, whose voice carries a great deal of weight with Canadians, is perpetuating a belief that if acted upon (through the establishment of obesity prevention programs focusing on energy-out) will waste valuable time and resources that could instead be spent on helping Canadians with understanding and modifying their energy-in.
Posts
Side Comment-have you all noticed the Olympic MacDonald's commercials, that "DON'T" target children? Each one has the same group of kids scarfing down nuggets while talking about their Olympic Aspirations! Thanks to Weighty Matters I notice stuff like this now. As do most of you I am sure...
ReplyDeleteNot only does olympian athleticism do nothing for obesity, my clinic of patients with an average BMI of 49(!), is full of former amateur and professional athletes, who, following injury or taking up "real jobs", found themselves gaining incredible amounts of weight.
ReplyDeleteWhile moderate (60-90 mins) low-intensity activity certainly has a lot of health benefits, the idea that competitive sports will make a dent in the obesity epidemic is nothing more than wishful thinking.
Remember, competition turns more people away from sports than attracts them to it.
Kudos to Yoni for getting this right!
Arya Sharma,MD
I've never quite understood the rationale behind having an Olympic athlete preaching to us mere mortals about how to live a "normal" healthy lifestyle. I think it sends the same kind of message to kids as having air-brushed photos of models in magazines: that the goal should be "perfection" (not to mention the potential for neurotic obsession with getting to "perfection"), as opposed to doing the best one can with the body they have.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone is cut out for athleticism like Silken Laumann. However, everyone can aspire to be their personal best.
I love the Dove campaign for natural beauty. Ordinary women in ordinary lives doing their best with the bodies they have. That's the message we want to send to kids.
I don't think you have to worry about obesity up in Canada as I can tell from my visits to various Tim Hortons... Tim Hortons Tuna sandwich in Toronto was served on a small baquette.. very light.. Tuna sandwich at Tim hortons in Connecticut.. two or three times the size.. delicious but heavy...
ReplyDelete- T
www.MostEmailedNews.com