OBESITY is a growing issue among Barbados’ youth, and chairman of the national Under-13 cricket competition, Adrian Donovan, is blaming the increase in the use of mobile and other electronic devices for this problem.
The sporting administrator told the SATURDAY SUN that mobile and other electronic devices were creating a level of obesity among children and parents needed to take charge of their young ones and have them engage in physical activity.
“Our young people are caught up too much on the commercial side of life at the expense of their personal health. Our young ones are too obese and statistics reveal that our society has one of the highest overweight ratios in the Western Hemisphere. This can be traits of our young people neglecting physical activity and have now gone into all sorts of games, whether on their mobile phones, tablets, or hand-held games.
“Too many of our young people are not engaging in any form of physical activity, and those parents who at this time would prefer to give their children these gadgets for recreational purposes are the ones to blame. Why can’t the parent instead give a ball, a racquet, a skateboard, a bicycle, or a pair of soft shoes for their children to engage in needed physical activity?” he said. (RA)
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