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‘Kids in Sad Shape’…that was the DMN headline that got my attention and I hope it got yours too!

Recent evaluations on nearly 2.6 million Texas students grades three through 12, showed that our kids are in pathetic physical shape. Roughly 30 percent of the third graders tested managed to reach the ‘healthy fitness zone’. The fitness levels dropped with each passing grade to the point where only 8 percent of girls and 9 percent of boys in the 12th grade met the health fitness standards.

Wow…….that means only 92 percent of our Seniors in high school can function in a physical capacity that is normal and healthy. What does that say? What is going on with our youth? How can this be? Are we as a nation really in this bad of shape?

This is absolutely alarming! This seems to reveal most of our children are failing basic standards for fitness. And, as our kids get older, their fitness health is getting worse. That is disasterous. For a multiple of reasons, most of our kids are not fit. My guess is most adults are not fit either. And, generally, where we find a child or teen not fit, we find a parent in the same condition.

As a counselor who has worked with teens and adults struggling eating disorders and addiction issues and their family members, these statistics disturb me but do not surprise me. Very few of the clients I saw over the past decade including their family members lived ‘healthy’ lifestyles. Most did not exercise on a regular basis, most neglected to eat clean and healthy. Most lived on fast food and did not sit down as a family over a cooked meal. Most were never appropriately hydrated, and many did not sleep the necessary amount for the body to function at its best.

I am convinced that unless this changes, we will continue to see more and more mental illness and more and more people who are unable and effective to deal with the pressures and normal trials of life. This can be prevented! There is hope. There are four basic things we can all do from kids to older adults to change this direction. In the weeks ahead, I will address these four things in depth. Stay tuned…