[at-l] No TV/VCR

[daniel@circumtech.com (Daniel Berlinger)]

> One of the latest "Oh my God" problems in this country is that the kids are 
> FAT - OVERWEIGHT - OBESE.  I wonder how much time those kids spend in front 
> of a TV (or a computer) - and how much time they spend walking or even 
> "playing".  Any bets???  Hey - I'm not exactly a lightweight now - but at 14 
> I was nothing but bone, muscle and whang leather.  Overweight wasn't even in 
> my vocabulary.  Any guesses about what changed?

That change is probably not enough. Now add in two working parents as the rule, many fewer home cooked meals and many more fast food/take out/tv dinner sort of things and I think the picture is more accurate.

I'd rather not see computers lumped in with TV, but I guess as far as *physical* activity level goes they're not far apart, especailly for kids.

The answer is the same one Jim mentioned to his "cell mate" at work... when it comes to taking care of our families too many of us replace time/interest/caring for "higher standard of living". It's clear (to me anyway) that collectively we have swung too far in this direction in this country.

All these things that we "can't live without" are too new for that to really be the case. And while I'm in no mood to go without indoor plumbing, it's not like I haven't learned that this too is not "necessary".

d.