I had an incredible experience the other night. A group of middle school students came to talk to me about childhood obesity. They were doing a school project and wanted to know specific activities they could teach other kids to help them become more active. They also wanted to learn about healthy food options.
I was absolutely blown away by their questions. These young kids were asking questions about Omega 3s, the difference between the meat of a chicken leg and a chicken breast, and being vegetarian.
We talked about everything — from how you gain weight to why a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better for you than just a jelly sandwich. It made my heart so happy! For an entire hour, the questions kept flowing. They were listening to every word — and some were even taking notes and taping the session.
I enjoyed the time with the students so much because they weren't afraid to ask questions. They wanted real answers and truly wanted to understand the information that I was telling them. If something I said didn't make sense, they stopped me to clarify.
After reflecting on our conversation, it made me wish that grown-ups were the same way. Why don't adults ask questions like children? Is it pride or just a feeling like as adults we should have all the answers already?
We hear claims about new fad diets, magic skinny pills and things that melt fat. We are inundated with ridiculous tools and things that are flashed in our faces over and over again. People buy into them and will dial a toll-free number in a heartbeat to buy the next cool thing without asking a single question.
What happens after that? The new workout tool or product arrives and it doesn't work and they think weight loss is for the birds. Then they think they are stuck and can't get out of their weight problem.
Adults desperately want to get weight off, but they aren't willing to educate themselves on what it really takes. These middle school students have the right idea. They already understand a healthy lifestyle is about two things — physical activity and healthy eating.
How come adults can't understand that?
One of the last questions asked that evening was the most powerful. It makes my stomach turn just thinking about it now. The question was, "How can we get parents to buy healthier food for their children?"
My heart sinks for every child out there who doesn't get the chance to eat healthy foods at home. If this doesn't make a parent look in their pantry twice, it should! I told the students, "Encourage your friends to ask their parents for these healthy foods. Ask them to buy it, and then pre-slice things for ease and convenience."
So, let's learn from our children. Ask questions, search for answers and don't be fooled by false claims and silly trends. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.