Only 1 in 3 children are physically active every day.
Children now spend 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen.
Since the 1970's, the number of fast food restaurants has more than doubled.

Staggering statistics.

And, here’s another: One in five school-aged children are obese.

One in five! This isn’t about their weight or their size because we preach this every single day at Boot Camp Challenge®: We don’t care what the scale says. What we care about is your body fat ratio to your lean muscle mass. Your health. Your children’s health. This is about their lives, their futures and their longevity.

We are a generation that played outside, played Kick the Can, Ghost in the Graveyard, and rode our bicycles until the street lights came on.

Our kids are sitting on the couch, sitting on their tablets, sitting on their phones, which means: THEY ARE NOT MOVING. If your child is playing sports, they’re not safe either.

Studies have shown over and over again that, even if your child is in sports, they’re still not guaranteed to get the recommended amount of daily physical exercise. And if your child IS in sports, injuries are way up. We've personally seen and heard about many injuries, even kids blowing rotator cuffs. How is a child blowing a rotator cuff? Because they are not fully conditioned.

We are teaching our kids how to pitch, how to throw a ball, how to catch a ball—but who will be there to catch them later in life—when they grow up and have no idea how to do a proper crunch, pick out fruits and vegetables or choose a healthy drink? These are real choices your children have to make now and for the rest of their lives. If you don’t teach them, who will?

This week, researchers at the Global Obesity Prevention Center at Johns Hopkins University revealed the mind-boggling results of a computer simulation that showed the path our kids are on. If they continue on this track, the costs of today’s 8-to-11 year olds being inactive and, consequently, overweight will cost ALL of us, not millions or billions, but TRILLIONS.

The good news is this: the simulation changed dramatically in an imaginary America where kids exercised 25 minutes three times a week, or let’s go crazy, moved for an hour a day, as suggested by the CDC. When that happened, their virtual lives transformed. Hundreds of thousands of less cases of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and strokes. That’s hundreds of thousands of more of our children who would be able to live life the way it was meant to live, fully.

We were so shocked by the numbers and so passionate about DOING LIFE, we decided to try to kick start Kids Kamp Challenge® once again.

Here’s the truth: A few years ago, we launched Kids Kamp and we were devastated at the response. Everyone wants to sign up their kids up to learn how to pitch a ball, but they didn't want to sign up their kids to learn a LIFE SKILL. It was a hard pill for us to swallow. But, we are picking ourselves up again, and trying again, because we can't give up. This isn’t just about health and the mounting medical costs. Although, that's a pretty big reason to get up and move.

Exercise also has so many other benefits for you and your children. It’s about their mood. Their self-confidence. Their brain! Exercise improves cognitive skills, improving test scores. With exercise, kids sleep better, they feel better, they FUNCTION better. When you look at it this way, there’s no reason NOT to do this.

Please join us at Kids Kamp Challenge® this summer on four (4) Thursdays at Oak Creek Park in St. Peters from 10a-11a, starting June 8th. It’s just $40 for all 4 sessions. Ironically, the price you'd probably pay for a high calorie-low nutrition meal these days for your family. It's a small price compared to – what we hope – will make a LIFE-LONG impression on your children to move and make healthier choices.

Click here to sign up for this session of Kids Kamp Challenge®!

And, if you’re not able to join us for Kids Kamp Challenge® this summer, please pass this along. Or, make a change today. Move your kids. An hour a day. It doesn’t have to be all at once. It can be 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there. Stretch in the morning, ride your bikes after school, walk with your family after dinner. Those little things will add up to big changes. Make the decision today – get off Facebook, get off your phone—and go #DoLife.

Smiles,
Lori

If you found this to be helpful, we would love it if you would share it with your friends.

Now get out there, and keep going for your goals one step at a time. Invest in yourself!

Hoo-Aah!
The BCC Team