My sister was told by a workmate after revealing she was exercising that she should not bother now....she should "get her babies and then lose the weight"....That statement alone reveals a mindset that is the engine behind our expanding waist lines and the rise and rise of plus size clothing stores - which I have nothing against, their existence points to a growing problem.
We are a nation of procrastinators, shelving the things we consider unimportant until an emergency arises. Look at our politicians, aren't they just bad handymen who rush to fill up cracks with substandard material when problems arise instead of planning ahead like they are supposed to? But I digress, it's been a difficult week in Kenya, with massacres in the name of religion, stripping of women and violation in broad daylight in the streets and raping of a 3 year old by two uncles. We are a nation that thinks of solutions when it is already too late, when a lot of damage has been done and it takes a mammoth effort to put this right. This applies to our health as well.
When I was a teenager, and overweight, I wanted to begin exercising in earnest in order to lose the weight, for self esteem mostly, body image is very important at that stage.
The reaction was that I was wasting time and I should be concentrating on my studies. That boys can wait, and I am unfocussed. This is a typical reaction here to a young woman trying to improve her self image, it is something to be ashamed of because it means one wants to be more attractive to the opposite sex. Concentrating on oneself becomes acceptable only when one has already settled down, has children and her health is so bad that losing weight becomes a family issue, not a personal one.
I concentrate on women here because for men, at any age, being active is considered a part of being a man. Therefore an overweight young man joining a football team would be lauded as a part of being male and not an attempt to improve self image.
What we do not realise is that the universal definition of health goes far beyond the lack of physical illness, it reaches into our mental state. While a young woman may not yet have developed complications from being overweight, her mental state, which matters much the same as the physical one, may already be suffering because of it. And she should not be ashamed because of it.
I teach Zumba once a week to the students at Swedish School Nairobi. Being an instructor there has taught me more than I could ever have taught them. The young men and women in high school (for they are not children per se) not only engage in time tabled physical activity, which many of us regarded as torture in our high school years, they also, of their own volition, find time to engage in additional physical activities taking advantage of facilities made available to them by the School Administration.
Let me give an example. This afternoon I will go to Impala Gym just across the road in order to lift. Chances are, I will find many of them at the gym doing the same or at the field doing some form of calisthenics or running without supervision during their free time. At the same facility I will see teenagers of the same age by the pool or seated some other place, being that Kenyan schools have already closed for christmas holidays, looking cool, drinking sodas and chatting away not using the membership they obviously have through their parents. Don't get me wrong, this is not a blanket condemnation. There are some who do engage in exercise, but this is a minority.
The problem does not begin while we're adults and sit at an office all day, it begins when we're children. The difference between the two groups can be seen - physically - this early.
Being pro-active and changing our own behaviour will give our children a positive model to imitate. This is what I hope to give to my children. My baby dances with me and when I work out at home, she watches and "works out" as well. She is outdoors a lot even in her play group, learning through play. Weekends we try to be sure she gets play time outside, we walk together to the supermarket and she even pushes her own little trolly there (to all the shoppers who have had to indulge her, thank you...).
Be active. Your children are watching.
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