Childhood Obesity Prevention

At the Risk of Pointing Out the Obvious…

1. Show me 10 boys who can do pull ups and I’ll show you 10 boys who are not obese. *

2. Show me 10 girls who can do pull ups and I’ll show you 10 girls who are not obese.

3. Show me 10 families full of members who can do pull ups and I’ll show you ten families who don’t worry about obesity and all the related problems.

4. Show me an elementary or a high school full of students who can do pull ups and I’ll show you an elementary and a high school who’ve won the war on obesity.

5. Show me a school teacher, administrator, or a school board member who can do pull ups and I’ll show you a school teacher, an administrator, and a school board member who are all setting great examples for the kids in their schools to follow.

6. Show me a company (say McDonald’s) full of employees who can do pull ups and I’ll show you a company that’s healthy, energetic, productive, and inexpensive to insure.

7. Show me a police department whose members can do pull ups and I’ll show you a police department who doesn’t worry about the relationship between cops and donuts.

8. Show me a group of childhood obesity prevention experts who can do pull ups and I’ll show you a group of childhood obesity prevention experts who walk the walk.

9. Show me a town/city, a county, a state, or a nation whose citizens can do pull ups and I’ll show you a town/city, a county, a state, and a nation who’s won the war against obesity.

10. Show me a group of people who understand what you’ve just read here and I’ll show you a group of people who are unconfused and ready to rally around “A simple, easily implemented, easily documented, and affordable solution to childhood obesity.”

And Then, With a Straight Face…

1. Tell me why obesity prevention is so complicated and confusing that we’re unable stop it from growing like a California forest fire raging out of control?

2. Tell me why every gym teacher in America agrees with the claim that kids who can do pull ups are never obese, yet so few take the time to teach their kids to do pull ups and to become obesity beating heroes in their own local communities at the same time?

3. Tell me why America’s Surgeon General has named childhood obesity prevention his TOP PRIORITY yet to date has provided no actionable answers to the problem?

4. Tell me why the future and life quality of millions of boys and girls will be undermined and sacrificed by low self esteems due to ongoing battles with obesity?

5. Tell me why a charitable organization like the Robert Woods Johnson foundation has dedicated $500 million dollars over the next five years to defeating childhood obesity, yet after year one (one hundred million spent) they have so little to show for it?

6. Tell me why we’re spending countless billions as a nation on obesity related illnesses?

7. Tell me why people in high positions simply fail to act, even when the obvious is pointed out to them?

8. Tell me why common sense is so uncommon, and why the obvious is so hard to see?

9. Tell me why we continue to think that the emperors are wearing beautiful and stylish new clothes when they’re obviously standing stark naked in front of everyone, for anyone – with open eyes – to see?

10. And if this is true of an issue like childhood obesity prevention, doesn’t it make you wonder how many other blatantly obvious solutions to crucial problems are being completely and totally overlooked and ignored by our so called authorities, our so called experts, our so called leaders?

*Substitute any sufficiently challenging functional acid test (i.e. dips, rope climbing, rock climbing, hand stand push ups, superman push ups) in place of pull ups and the results will inevitably be the same.

According to recent government sources America spends over $120,000,000 (that’s Billion with a B) dollars annually on childhood obesity and related issues. That is to say we spend about the same on obesity as we’re spending on the Iraq war and we’re losing because the problem is getting worse not better. Not only that, we can’t pull out of this one even if we wanted to, which means we have to take a stand and fight.

Only One Percent

In this light I’d like to suggest that we take a mere ONE PERCENT of that $120 billion dollars and REDIRECT IT INTO A WAR ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY designed to naturally immunize kids against obesity for life, eliminate this plague within one decade, save the American taxpayer trillions over the same time period, immediately create 20,000 GOOD PAYING JOBS (400 per state), and improve the life quality and productivity of millions of kids from sea to shining sea.

Let’s Do the Math

Check out the math. One hundred twenty billion times one percent equals $1,200,000,000 (one point two billion dollars). If we paid each childhood obesity prevention specialist an average of $60,000 each we could hire 20,000 of them nationwide. This works out to be an average of 400 new childhood obesity specialists per state who would in turn work with schools, park districts, Boys and Girls Clubs, YM/WCA’s, and churches who are interested in helping their kids naturally immunize themselves against obesity for life.

Starting With Kindergartners

If we did nothing more than start with kindergarten classes across each state using simple height adjustable pull up bars together with a technique called leg assisted pull ups to help students learn to physically pull their own weight, 90% of all kindergartners would be naturally immunized against obesity for life by the end of the school year because kids who can do pull ups are NEVER OBESE. The other 10% would also be well on their way toward natural self immunization. Repeat this scenario for 10 straight years and childhood obesity would be ancient history like polio or the black plague.

2,000,000 Kids Annually Immunized Against Obesity

Let’s examine the possibilities in a little different way. Let’s say that each new specialist worked with (supported) only 10 other adults (teachers, park district, Boys and Girls Club, or pre-school employees) who in turn worked directly with at least 10 kids. Under those conditions we would naturally immunize 40,000 kids (10 X 10 X 400 = 40,000) against obesity for life in each state annually against obesity for life. Nationally that figure would be 2,000,000 kids who would be naturally immunized annually.

10,000,000 Kids Annually Immunized Against Obesity

But these figures are very conservative, the worst case scenario. Let’s say instead that each new specialist worked with 10 schools each week (one in the AM and one in the PM), and each school averaged 50 kindergartners. Under these conditions the number of kids naturally immunized against obesity for life annually explodes to 200,000 kids per state and 10,000,000 nationally.

And under those conditions childhood obesity would be completely eliminated in one decade or less, saving American taxpayer trillions, and making the lives of millions of American kids meaningful and productive in a way that they currently are not.

Meaningful Work Instead of Meaningless Repetition

One final note here is that the 20,000 jobs that we could create immediately with NO NEW MONEY, by redirecting what we’re currently spending in a productive direction, would create meaningful jobs that not only pay well and produce a humongous return on our nation’s investment in the personal infrastructure of our kids, but the childhood obesity prevention specialists themselves will know they’re doing something worth doing, something important, something that will make a difference in the lives of kids and parents across the USA, and maybe the world.

P.S. Dedicate 2% instead of 1% and you automatically DOUBLE these numbers!!

P.S.S. Can you imagine a stronger foundation for a prevention oriented American healthcare system than the elimination of childhood obesity within one decade?