Todays Children-Are They Slower?

If you stop into any coffee shop you might find a couple 'old boys' sitting around the table talking comparisons.  Like, who do you think is faster?  Adrian Peterson or old number 44 Chuck Foreman for the Minnesota Vikings.  We make comparisons like this all the time.

Now, you factor in all the 'obesity talk,' that goes around and conversations might shift from the playing field to your house. In fact it already has. According to Healthy Living at MSNnow.com

In a one-mile footrace, a kid today would finish a minute and a half behind a typical child from 1975, said study lead author Grant Tomkinson, a senior lecturer in the University of South Australia's School of Health Sciences.

"We all live in an environment that's toxic for exercise, and our children are paying the price," Tomkinson said.

Children today are about 15 percent less aerobically fit than their parents were as youngsters, Tomkinson and his colleagues discovered. In the United States it's even worse -- kids' heart endurance fell an average 6 percent in each of the three decades from 1970 to 2000.

I've actually had this conversation with my kids. All three of our sons have been involved in sports.  I'm not sure this would play out at my house. When they were younger, I'm sure they would have beat me.  But now that I've been running and watching my weight, I'm not sure sure.

Take a look at the kid across from your Thanksgiving table this year.  Or better yet, look up from your laptop as your kids shift from couch to floor playing video games.  Inside!

I'm not crying foul, I'm simply suggesting this.  IF you can still move.  IF you can run.  IF you are in reasonable shape, this is a good time to lay down a little challenge. Instead of 'who can get high score on NBA 2044 how about a challenge like, hey, let's run a mile and see who wins.

Oh, and this whole conversation left me with this question.  If it's true, that would mean your Dad would have beat YOU in a race when YOU were younger.  And Grandpa?  Heck, he would have beat you all!

Note about the author:  JD Collins lost 50 pounds 3 years ago and, thanks to staying active and exercising, and not eating a bowl of cereal every night before bedtime, is actually pretty confident he could beat his kids in a 1 mile race.