Letters to the Editor

Editor,
Is it just me; or is the percentage of overweight kids in this country rapidly getting higher? It’s a puzzling thing really, it seems the deadly sin of sloth is making a comeback, and with a vengeance. With the popularity of “Real TV,” and the raging excitement of the internet, no one really needs to get off their fat asses anymore. Kids are spending an average of 20-30 hours in front of the TV per week. Nearly 10 times as much as they average kid spends on homework, or doing physical activities. But they aren’t the only ones, the average American adult watches 6 hours of TV a day.
Don’t get me wrong, I love TV and internet, but why spend hours on end sitting there doing nothing? Can we please ride bikes, and not just sit inside all day? We’re letting the “fresh” Canadian are go to waste. The US is ranked the most overweight country in the world, at 30% of the people being overweight, and the percentage is still rising. But who’s to blame? Is it the fast food companies who push and shove us around into eating their crappy fast food? No! Is it the uninterrupted TV we can watch 24 hours a day ; 7 days a week? No! Is it the fact that we can get everything we want, when we want, just by pressing a few buttons causing us all to be lazy slobs and have no motivation to do anything? No! It is we, the people. It is our decision to eat the food. It is our decision to spend hours sitting on the couch watching TV or surfing the web, and it was MY decision to get off my ass, and do something, and everyone should be making that decision. I’m not asking you to get up and run 20k a day. I’m asking you to turn off the TV, and get some exercise for half an hour a day. That’s all it takes to make a difference. Walk the dog - play catch with the kids; anything. It all helps. So I’m inviting you, my fellow North Americans, to come play some ball. Take it or leave it, it’s your heart attack, not mine.

Matt MacKay
1st Year Business Student



Dear Matt,
Duly Noted.
-Ed.