Drive home the lifestyle message

Sep 3 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

DO VIDEO games and multi- channel satellite TV have a lot to answer for? Or is it all down to the proliferation of cheap, fast-food takeaways?

Whatever the answer, so many of our schoolchildren are now doing so little exercise that uniform stockists are providing increased numbers of XL and XXL outfits.

And with that, of course, comes the crisis lurking just around the corner – the health problems caused by so many teenagers forcing their bodies to cope with the strain of carrying so much excess weight.

Unless we act now, any success achieved by the current drive to reduce the number of smokers faces being wiped out because of the potential for growing numbers of young adults being carted off to casualty suffering from heart attacks and strokes.

In a sense, it is surprising. The near- legendary status of today’s Premiership stars would make many youngsters eager to get out on the football field and practise their skills, it might have been thought.

But, on the other hand, easy access to couch potato activities such as iPods, computer games and satellite TV might be just too tempting for many of today’s indolent teens.

Schools, of course, have a role to play, by stressing the importance of – and setting time aside for – good, healthy exercise. By the end of next year, indeed, schools will have to demonstrate that 85% of pupils are doing at least two hours of PE per week.

But the prime responsibility for driving the message home surely starts right there . . . at home. Far too many parents are setting the worst of examples to their children, avoiding exercise like the plague and bringing home food that is convenient to eat, rather than healthy.

In those circumstances, the schools can only attempt to counteract the ill effects of what is happening on the domestic front.

In the longer term, however, we can only hope that more families take on board the importance of healthy living – for the sake of their own well-being and longevity.