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Forbes writer Bob Cook presents a news item that reveals a counterfactual idea that should freak out parents from coast to coast: Youth sports could do more damage than good to your little pork chops.
How? Cook references a University of Minnesota study that shows kids in sports are more likely to eat fast food and other unhealthy snacks, and backs it up with observations taken from his own family unit:
"Particularly in the spring, our busiest season, we end up consuming—despite our best intentions—a lot of fast food. Also, each event often features a snack and drink for the kids afterward, so two hours of standing around doing much of nothing on the softball field is rewarded with a Rice Krispie treat and a Hi-C box."
Naturally it doesn't help that the world of kids' snacks is populated in part—or maybe mostly—by nutritional wolves in sheep's clothing. From Lunchables' cracker stackers to blueberry muffins, it's a harsh, buttery world out there for parents trying to raise active, healthy kids.
Image source: Flickr member mattack under Creative Commons
I had a year or more period in high school where I ate Capri Sun and Hostess for lunch before heading out to track practice later that day.
Ha! It's "scary and ridiculous" that people might be -gasp!- unhealthy or -shock!- fat! And we all know those are the absolute worst things a person can be. How about we go back to reporting on food, and not policing the health and bodies of children?
I have felt this way for years. Close hand from participating in grand childrens sports. It is just amazing to me, scary and ridiculous.
Gosh, when I played schoolgirl cricket in the mid 1980s, all we'd get during the game is maybe a piece of orange and some water. What you got was what you brought along yourself but we never thought of bringing snacks of any kind. Games were on Saturday morning so you'd have breakfast, play the match and then have lunch. If it was an away game at another school that I needed to be driven to, my...+READ
Gosh, when I played schoolgirl cricket in the mid 1980s, all we'd get during the game is maybe a piece of orange and some water. What you got was what you brought along yourself but we never thought of bringing snacks of any kind. Games were on Saturday morning so you'd have breakfast, play the match and then have lunch. If it was an away game at another school that I needed to be driven to, my parents would pack a picnic lunch to have afterwards.
If the game was at a school or ground that was quite close by, you'd usually walk to and from the game too. No worries about youth sports making you fat then!-COLLAPSE
I know this was true in my case. Though not considered by some to be a 'sport', I was in marching band from middle school through high school. We competed in two circuits in two different states, and practiced 2.5 hrs every day after school, with competitions every Saturday. And yet I packed on over 20 pounds of fat in band. Why? Every stop on the way to a competition or after practice was a fast...+READ
I know this was true in my case. Though not considered by some to be a 'sport', I was in marching band from middle school through high school. We competed in two circuits in two different states, and practiced 2.5 hrs every day after school, with competitions every Saturday. And yet I packed on over 20 pounds of fat in band. Why? Every stop on the way to a competition or after practice was a fast food place. All our snacks were candy, chips, etc. I didn't lose the weight until I went to college and started buying my own food.-COLLAPSE
There's so much wrong with the pompous pronouncements in this piece, I don't know where to start my criticism!