By now we all know that exercise is one of the best ways to keep weight off. And, while some children might be more active than others, there is no doubt that all children love to run, jump, skip and hop.  It simply doesn't feel right for them to be inactive and yet, as adults, many of us only have to watch them to feel exhausted!

Unfortunately it is all too common for adults to unwittingly erode the love that children have for body-fun (what I call exercise and running around).  And worst of all, this is not adults intention. However, just think how many admonishments children get for running around.  It's not uncommon for them to hear things like: "Don't come crying to me if you hurt yourself running around like a hooligan", or "For heaven's sake, child, can't you sit still for even a minute – you are driving me mad." And often these words are spewed forth in a tone reeking of venom (As one child put it, "Dad, becomes very screamative when I run around). Nor is it uncommon for them to be punished for being too active. No small wonder children start getting the message that running around is bad and gets them into trouble. In addition, parents seldom join their children running around or climbing trees, but they may join them playing quiet sedentary games like dolls or cars, TV games, watching a video or TV, or reading books.  Children love adult company and attention so this serves as powerful reinforcement for them to do more of these kinds of activities.

School also introduces our children to a culture of sport, teams and competition. So whereas before they usually ran around without any specific goal, now the goal becomes winning.  Some children find out that whether you are sporty or not determines whether you belong to the 'in-crowd' or not. They also find out that not being very good at sports can invite teasing and criticism. Other more competitive parents almost force feed their children a diet of sport and then can not understand why little Suzie or Johnny avoid it. Some parents even embarrass their children on sports days by running up and down the sidelines (in their enthusiasm I know) shouting encouragement.

Over the years, with the advent of mechanization, motorcars, public transport, TV and computers we have become increasingly sedentary people who have forgotten how wonderfully vibrant, alive and naturally healthy we feel when our bodies are allowed to have fun in the way that we did when we were children. Sadly, many adults with similar conditioning to that described above, convey to their children their attitude that exercising is a slog, an effort and a bind that they dislike intensely. This attitude is contagious - monkey see, monkey do! And did you know that even a mother's activity levels during pregnancy can influence her child's activity levels later on in life? I guess I can be glad that my mother was still hiking at 8 months pregnant (something she didn't do with my siblings and I am still the one who enjoys running around the most. Although I did go through a long period when I disliked anything that made me sweaty because it wasn't feminine).

Without enough exercise, the proportion of muscle to fat decreases which slows our metabolism. The slower our metabolism, the fewer calories we use up and the faster our body stores excess food as fat. This is how we become fat. The messages we give our children about exercising, both verbally and by our actions, may be laying the foundation to one of the most prevalent problems today: being overweight. We need to encourage the wisdom inherent in every child at birth: being active should be a natural and fun part of our lives.

Cari Corbet-Owen is a Clinical Psychologist registered and practicing in South Africa. Besides consulting to SANEP (South African Nutrition Expert Panel), she is also on the Advisory Boards for the South African Journal of Natural Medicine and Shape Magazine, as well as running 'Mind over Fatter' work-shops for those who are sick and tired of dieting. Visit her website www.mindoverfatter.co.za or email her on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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