Is more pressure in school leading to childhood obesity?

When my parents were kids they say how they were never home and always out playing and running around and their generation did not have a high rate of childhood obesity. now a days children can be out running around because (at least for me I go to a specialized high school) we have hour of hw and by the time we are done its time for bed and we end up only eating junk because it is easy to eat while still doing our hw.

I don't think so. Childhood obesity is coming from a lack of exercise and a lack of healthy nutrition. I went to a college prep school for high school, and definitely had a lot of homework at times.. and I'm far from obese.

Our generation is a generation of instant gratification. Why wait for mom to cook a healthy meal that takes an hour, while we have the microwaveable dinner which'll be done in five minutes? Our generation is becoming more and more on the go. If I need to eat a poptart in the car on the way to school, I can. Don't forget about the ability to sit in a chair for hours on end and chat online while playing the best game out there (although it's not a game... that includes this). We have hundreds of television channels to choose from.. but it always seems there's nothing on but, we still flip through the channels until that next half hour.. bummer

goodnight!

I think a lot of the obesity problem comes from two different factors:

1. Both parents work, and there just isn't enough time to spend in preparing wholesome meals. A lot of junk is eaten instead.

2. Kids, in general, just don't get enough exercise anymore. We spent a lot of time in front of the television when I was a kid, but now we have computers, Xboxes, PSP's, and any number of electronic gadgets that our children spend even more time with.

When I was in school, physical education was mandatory. Now, many schools, including the one my daughter attends, no longer require it.

I could see how that may be. That is definitely not the ONLY reason, but it could very well account for some of the problem.

That being said, just because junk is easier to eat, doesn't mean that you should.

Just my two cents,
Matt

I think that probaly has a lot to do with it, espicaly for the kids that get made fun of a lot and are scared of being judged because they wont go out and do things

First off, an hour of homework isn't all that much. Secondly, you don't only have 1 hour of free time a day. Stop complaining please.

One thing that might be contributing to childhood obesity is that children come home and spend time watching TV or on the Internet instead of outside exercising like in past years.