Brian McAllister



Brian McAllister

Scott Braaten

Proposal (Health/Lifestyles)

Childhood and adult obesity has become a major public health concern for the United States. Although most people would associate the state of Vermont with healthy, outdoor recreation oriented lifestyles, it has not been able to avoid the obesity epidemic. Obesity has become a costly health problem for Vermonters. Obese and overweight children are at a higher risk of developing costly health problems later on in life. There is also now evidence that low socioeconomic status may be associated with childhood obesity in Vermont. A Vermont Winter Sports Center would allow Vermont children the opportunity to exercise outdoors in the winter, and through activities like cross country skiing, a VSC could enhance the health status of Vermont children.

Nearly fifty percent of overweight children in Vermont will become overweight or obese adults, while between twenty-six and forty-one percent of overweight Vermont preschool aged children will become overweight adults (). In 2003, 11% of Vermont high school students are overweight or obese which is up from 10% in 2001 and based on the 95th body mass index percentile. On top of that, 15% of high school students in Vermont are at risk of becoming overweight which is up from 13% in 2001 and is based on the 85th body mass index percentile. That means that over one quarter of all Vermont high school students either are, or at risk of becoming, overweight or obese. Broken down further, it appears that Vermont males are at more of a risk of becoming overweight adults as 15% of all Vermont high school males are overweight compared to only 8% of Vermont high school females (adap/pubs/2003/yrbs2003report.pdf). Vermont children and teens are getting larger and larger. This obesity epidemic will continue to grow if nothing is done to stop it. Programs, like a Vermont Winter Sports Center would be the first step in combating this problem.

Obesity is costing tax payers and health care companies billions of dollars each year. The total health cost of obesity today in the United States is estimated to be at $117 billion. That puts obesity on the same level, in terms of economic cost, as that of cigarette smoking. The economic cost of childhood obesity has risen from $35 million in 1979 to $127 million in 1999. The total economic cost of childhood obesity is significantly lower than that of adult obesity but that is because most overweight children do not develop the more serious health consequences till later in life. Problems such as cardiac disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes are usually developed over time and end up costing the nation billions of dollars later on in life (). In the state of Vermont, the health cost of obesity is estimated at $141 million.

There are several different causes for the increasing obesity rate in Vermont’s children. As outlined in the Vermont State Department of Health program called Healthy Vermonters 2010, the three main causes for the increase in bodyweight are increased caloric intake, increased amount of time spent watching television, and reduced physical activity (). An amazing 32% of Vermont kids watch television for three hours or more per day. Of those who do, 13.5% of them are overweight or obese. There is also a decrease in participation in physical education classes throughout Vermont’s school. In 8th grade, 94% of kids attended a P.E. class once per week while in 12th grade, only 26% of teens participated in a P.E. class once per week. A recent study also shows that low socioeconomic status may play a part in childhood obesity. The study of low-income preschool children attending Head Start programs in Vermont found a high prevalence of overweight kids who ranged from 10 to 32% ().

Motivating children as well as adults to stay active today is no easy task, especially during the dead of winter. Time constraints, video games, and television are leaving less time for healthy outdoor winter recreation. Vermont's winters are long and for the most part bitterly cold, but that does not mean that residents need to hibernate from December to April. They just need alternatives, like cross country skiing. Cross country skiing is one of the healthiest sports in which a person can partake, and Vermont's long winters serve as the perfect medium to support this sport.

Cross country skiing is at its best during the seasons when most other sports are at their worst. Cross country uses muscles in the shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, buttocks, and legs, and skiers can burn as many as six hundred to nine hundred calories per hour(). The kick and glide motion of cross country skiing, combined with the poling motion to propel the skier along, can provide a more complete work out than running or cycling, both of which only focus on the lower body muscles. Compared to other winter sports like downhill skiing or snowboarding, cross country burns almost double the amount of calories, and also has a much lower risk of serious injury than downhill skiing (Courtesy of Owen Murphy, Graduate Student, Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana). The full body work out of cross country exercises more muscles groups than other aerobic activities, and does not strain the body like many other calorie burning activities. In comparison to running, skiing normally has low impact on muscles, joints, and connective tissues in the knees, ankles, feet, and hips, unlike the repetitive impact of running that can lead to injury and may cause runners to give up the sport after only a few years. Cross country regularly enables skiers to consume more calories than someone who is not as active because more calories are needed to burn energy. The active skiing lifestyle provides a skier more energy with which they can live an all-around active, energetic and healthy lifestyle.

Children in the United States are gaining more weight now than at any other point in our Nation's history. Kids are eating too many high-fat, high sugar foods and are spending less time being physically active. Weight problems that develop during childhood can lead to weight-related illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes later on in life. This is why it is so crucial to get kids outdoors and active with sports and activities that are fun, but also healthy. An active lifestyle can have a positive effect on other aspects of children's lives as well. Studies confirm that being active results in an increase in productivity, self-esteem and self confidence and a decrease in stress, risk of disease and obesity (). Cross country skiing provides children with a sport that can give them self confidence, and a means of staying active and healthy for a lifetime.

By teaching children an active, enjoyable sport such as cross country skiing, we promote a lifelong pattern of healthy activity which can be carried on into one's sixties, seventies, and eighties. This type of life long involvement stands in marked contrast to other sporting activities for children such as hockey, basketball, or baseball which tend to come to an end during one's late teenage years (). Skiing also help kids stay on the right track. There are many distractions and temptations such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products that can lure kids away from a healthy lifestyle. Cross country skiing helps teach kids that harmful lifestyles can hurt your performance as a skier and provides kids with a reason not to get involved with drugs or alcohol.

Cross country skiing is an easy way for schools to get kids outside during the winter time and have them continue staying active. Skiing programs can be started for physical education classes, team sports, or as an after school activity. Cross country works well because it doesn't take much for kids to have fun; a little snow, a few pairs of skis, and you can have hours of fun with various games, activities and competitions. Many children enjoy competition; it gives them something to be proud of and work towards, improving their self confidence, as well as allowing them to meet other kids.

Cross country can also help children who have had trouble with academic work. By building children's confidence with the sport of skiing, that confidence can then can be transferred to their school work. Cross country skiing and outdoor education enables students and teachers to interact in an environment free from the limitations of the classroom. This change in environment can facilitate learning by removing students with behavioral disorders from the classroom setting, which they may already identify with failure. “Children who regularly engage in physical activity are better able to focus on their academic work. Physically active children demonstrate increased alertness and attention spans, which can lead to improved academic performance” (). These benefits of physical outdoor education and healthy living not only help children who participate, but can benefit an entire community. Studies have found that effective after school programs can yield a benefit to cost ratio to tax payers and crime victims of two to five dollars for every dollar spent. Quality after school programs can reduce future welfare, crime and education costs by $80,000 to $120,000 per participant ().

Childhood obesity is a serious health threat to the state of Vermont. The Vermont children are getting larger and larger which is putting many of them at risk of becoming overweight and developing serious health problems. Obesity is costing Vermonters millions of dollars each year. A Vermont Winter Sports Center focused on cross country skiing would help save Vermonters’ children and save the taxpayers dollars by teaching them about healthy, outdoor lifestyles. It could be a very important and life-changing program for many kids.

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