By: swj2e_mtsu_s10 on 2/5/10
Childhood obesity is a major problem this day in age. Kids are more likely to sit in their houses and play with their XBox 360, Playstation 3, or Wii instead of actually going outside and doing something more physical or challenging. The refrigerator makeover may sound like a good idea, but it's not always just about what the children are eating. It includes how much they are consuming as well as how much time they spend doing physical activities in their daily routines.
I grew up when the first game sytems were becoming available, including the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Playstation. I will admit we did enjoy playing with these systems, but we would much rather be outside playing sports, riding bikes, swimming, etc. We never had to be told to go do something because we were just sitting around. If anything, our parents tried to get us to stay in the house more to keep us from getting hurt. This helped to create a more healthy environment for all of us because we were never worried about eating more than our three or four meals a day since we stayed so busy.
All of the blame for childhood obesity today cannot just be put on the kids themselves because in some ways it is the parents' responsibility to ensure that their kids are being more active. The parents need to enfore stricter rules on when these kids can sit in the house and play with their gaming systems. One motivator to get these kids more involved and active is that usually physical activities and sports help to build a child's self-esteem and confidence, and that is one thing that children these days need more of.
I hope to see a decline in the childhood obesity rate in the next five to ten years. If this doesn't occur, then who knows what children will be like in 20 or 30 years.

By: zjn2a_mtsu_s10 on 2/5/10
I think that the Murfreesboro City Schools and the Rutherford County Health Department’s plan to combat the childhood obesity problem is practically a publicity stunt and falls short on the indented outcome.
First of all, this grant by the General Mills Foundation for a “few” (two, which by the way is not a few, it is a couple) families to receive a $250 “refrigerator makeover” seems to me nothing more than a publicity stunt. Filling two families refrigerators with $250 worth of healthy quick meals only mask the problem, and temporarily at that. It is likely that the family in question knows or already has access to, via Internet especially, the information that would enable them to make the healthy decisions themselves. Granted they wouldn’t have the extra $250, chances are good that they at least allow a budget for food and could have cycled out the “bad” food and replaced it with the “good” food.
This however only masks the problem by creating a temporary fix. If the family wanted to eat healthy and was ready to make the commitment to change their lifestyle and keep them changed with no motivation they probably wouldn’t be there in the first place.
That is not to say that they cannot change however. While I strongly disagree with this program I am not going to slam it without offering a counter solution. My fellow student above me has made many good points on this already with ideas of getting kids away from their video games, making them play sports or just go outside, and most importantly to put more of the blame on the parents.
Kids only have so much control of their daily lives and most of the time what’s for dinner is what your parents are eating. The parents need to step up and take responsibility for their children. I had both video games and wonderful Nickelodeon when I was a child however my parents would make me go outside and find something to do. I think that is a major contributor to the problem today. Yes the inside is safe, and yes your children can become annoying and it is tempting to just set them in front of the TV, but that is not the answer. You could take your children to the park while you catch up on some reading, find other parents with the same problem and push the kids outside together (eventually they will get bored and find something to do in the yard).
The person above me said it best with the last two sentences, and I shudder to think what could become of our youth if childhood obesity rates stay on the rise.

By: Joshua1_9 on 2/5/10
The BAM! Get Fit Kids program was not highlighted in this article. The program was a 15 week program where the children spent time each week learning the importance of a healthy diet, exercise, sleep, social/emotional health, and physical activity. Every week, physical activity was a component of the program. There was a different topic covered each week to address the health of the whole child (physical, nutritional, social/emotional). The children worked with teachers and MTSU students to set goals for the elementary students. These students became more aware of what they needed to do to be healthier; and several of the students took a very pro-active approach to advocating for themselves. At one of the schools, the children went to their cafeteria manager to ask why the flavored milks were skim based but the white milk was 2% based. They asked her to change all milks to skim based to offer healthier options for all of their fellow students. That is AMAZING! Elementary age students learning about wellness and learning to make changes (slight or major) to improve their quaility of life. The families would also work with the MTSU students on achieving goals. The families came in once a month for Family Health Nights where a community partner (UT-Extension, TNCEP, Rutherford County Health Department, TENNderCARE, The Guidance Center) would work with the families on easy ways to incorporate healthy habits into their busy schedules. The teachers that served as Health Coaches and the MTSU students that worked with the children did an amazing job with this program over the fall quarter. Again, I hate that this article did not showcase what the real program was about. The refrigerator makeover was one of the prizes parents could enter to win during the end of the program celebration. Thank you for your comments and concern. You are exactly right on your comments. Hopefully, the Post will feature a story on what the BAM! Get Fit Kids program really was about.

By: bbb123 on 2/7/10
If MCS was really serious about fighting childhood obesity they wouldn't have added the ala-cart junk food items like rice krispy treats, chips, and fruit rollups to the menu this year.