De Ridder talks to world leaders about child obesity

A projected 155 million school-going children and adolescents in the world display symptoms of obesity, and child obesity is becoming a serious health epidemic.
 

Profs. Hans de Ridder and Margaret Talbot from England. Currently, she is the president of the largest umbrella organisation of sport sciences in the world (ICSSPE).

  Prof. Hans de Ridder, Director of the School of Biokinetics, Recreation and Sport Science of the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus, recently returned from the USA where he formed part of a group of international world leaders who discussed the global problem of child obesity at the University of Northern Iowa.
  De Ridder says the latest research of the “International Obesity Task Force” indicates that it is indeed becoming a serious health epidemic.
  World leaders, from more than thirty countries in the field of physical activity, sport and health, seriously talked about the health problems linked to child obesity for three days. He says they especially tried to find a solution to the problem.
  “What clearly came to the fore is that the lack of physical activity in children, the unhealthy manner in which children are currently eating and especially the phasing out of physical training at schools in several countries are some of the main reasons for this problem. What very clearly came to the fore is that the internet generation (as today’s children are known) will urgently have to become more active and will have to eat healthier if they do not wish to already be confronted by serious health problems and even chronic illnesses at a young age.”
  De Ridder says the scientists also spent time at the primary and high schools in the town, Grundy Center, in Iowa, to see how successful the schools are in implementing physical activity within the school curriculum. The involvement of parents and the community also played a gigantic role in the success stories.
  He says a life-long active lifestyle is unbelievably important and children need to be taught it from an early age. It also includes regular exercising and a healthy diet. “Physical activity must form part of the school curriculum with a very strong focus on health.”