Sugar, sugar… ah honey, honey

I’m going to get all bossy this week. So, head over to the junk drawer in your kitchen. Ya, you’ve got a junk drawer. Dig around and see if you have a measuring tape, and not one of those metal measuring tapes you’d use for drywall and two-by-fours. Get the cloth tape with the numbers on it. Tape in hand, haul your droopy arse to the mirror in your bedroom, drop those not-so-baggy, comfy pants a wee bit, lift that hoodie and measure your waistline. Can’t find your waistline? Well, using your hands, find the top of your hip bones. Now, look in the mirror and align the bottom edge of the measuring tape with the top of your hipbones on both sides of your body. Take a couple of normal breaths and after the second breath tighten the tape around your waist. Don’t yank the tape so tightly that it disappears into your skin. Okay, women, if your waist is more than 35 inches (and I’m not talking about a pregnant belly) and men, if your waist is more than 40 inches, you’ve got a problem. Ya, you do. And, blah, blah, blah about having big bones or that you’re naturally shaped like a beach ball. This isn’t about your shape, it is about the shape you’re in. A bit too much fat in your abdominal area and around your waist is not good for a number of reasons.

According to The Heart and Stroke Foundation, fat stored around your middle— your waist and abdomen—can put you at risk for high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Almost 60 percent of Canadian adults are overweight or obese. Sixty percent! Some of us don’t look obese and the rest of us—well, we know what we look like and we just have to look at the numbers on the tape measure to confirm our concern. Funny thing is, we aren’t taking responsibility for this massive (pun intended) health problem. We blame our sedentary, couchpotato life on the times and the technology. We blame our poor meal choices on the fast-food industry and their supersizing ways. We blame our busy lives, too many work deadlines, overtime hours to make ends meet, the kids’ playmate and game schedules and budgetary constraints. “I don’t have time to cook a proper meal. Have you seen the cost of fresh fruit? I don’t like vegetables and I don’t have time to wash, peel, chop and cook. I don’t think eating take-out four or five times a week is abnormal, all of my friends do it. I can’t afford to keep my kid in hockey and join a gym, too. We are so busy we often eat on the run at the arena snack stand or pick up something from the drive through. My parents were big people and I’ve inherited a large frame. If you think I’m fat, you should see the guy who works next to me.” And, on and on. I’ve heard all the excuses. I’ve probably used most of the excuses. One day, when I couldn’t stand being fat, sick and nearly dead any more I let someone, who isn’t afraid of me, measure my waist and basically he said, “Houston, we have a problem.” I got scared.

You might think I’m going to blather on about heart disease and stroke. I could, but, you know that story already. Nope, I’m not going to talk about my “other favourite topic” today. A topic we don’t take seriously, indeed we are rather cavalier about it. It’s all about adult onset diabetes. Believe it or not, type-2 diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes. Not anymore. Type-2 diabetes is now rearing its ugly head in children as early as 10 years of age. It used to be when diabetes affected a child it was generally assumed to be type-1 or juvenile diabetes. In the last 15 to 20 years, type-2 diabetes has been reported in children. We’ve put ourselves in peril and have dragged our innocent children along for company. Our children are less likely to be physically active every day and are more likely to be fat. Excess weight is the number one risk factor for type-2 diabetes in adults and in children. Too much fat tissue means your cells become more resistant to insulin. Inactivity is another factor. I know. I know, your kid plays soccer in the summer and hockey in the winter and you go along to watch. Heck you even break a sweat shouting at them from the sidelines. One or two hours of activity per week isn’t going to cut it for kids and it doesn’t cut it for adults, either. Our children need one hour of active, running – around-driving- you-nuts, activity every single day of the week—aerobic, muscle and bonestrengthening activity. Adults need about 30 minutes per day. As parents or caregivers, we need to put the tech toys away, hide the clickers and push them out the door to skip, run, jump, bike, hide and seek.

Rather than get all preachy on your kids, get outside and play hard with them. Now, go dig around in the cardboard box in the shed, find a skipping rope and, “Apples, peaches, pears and plums please jump in when your birthday comes”.

theresa@wellingtontimes.ca