Should public schools force kids to run a mile a day?

[Taojnhy]

Why the emphasis on forcing anyone to run? There are plenty of activities that burn a decent amount of calories:

Running 7mi/hr = 700 kCal

Walking 3mi/hr = 240 kCal

Swimming 1.7mi/hr = 550 kCal

Cycling 13mi/hr = 560 kCal

In-Line Skating (1hr) = 426 kCal

Jet Skiing (1hr) = 400 kCal

Beach Volleyball (1hr) = 484 kCal

Frisbee (1hr) = 208 kCal

Soccer (1hr) = 600 kCal

Football (1hr) = 500 kCal

Kayaking (1hr) = 346 kCal

Surfing (1hr) = 208 kCal

Yardwork (1hr) = 270 kCal

Car Washing (1hr) = 200 kCal

These are very loose approximations based on someone weighing around 130 lbs, which would cover your heavier kids. If the point trying to be made is to get kids more active, I'm all for it, but the focus on running is just asinine. Hell, if a school doesn't have funds to cover extra equipment, encourage and help organize the kids to fundraise doing car-washes or basic yardwork.

As for the suggestion to reward kids at the end of the week with doughnuts...really? Y'know, if there was an effort made in education for proper nutrition and eating habits, that would go a long way as well.

All this said, I disagree that the schools should be the ones forcing this. Parents can simply restrict some forms of sedentary entertainment; that alone will get kids out of the house doing stuff.

[Gamdwelf]

We know you're anti-exercise, but this quite frankly ridiculous, the human body is made to run long distances.

The amount of "I can be fat and unhealthy"-mentality on this forum, really, its so weird, go eat another bic mac and a diet coke and have a lot of fun dying at the age of 40 in the body that resembles an age of 80.

I'm not anti exercise but forcing kids to run is just stupid.

[Deleted]

I'm not anti exercise but forcing kids to run is just stupid.

Its not, when I was in highschool, everyone was supposed to be able to run 2-3km.

You think its stupid because my guess is you haven't runned for over 20 years. Kids should get mandatory, proper exercise, just like they need to learn to swim, which is also mandatory in school, they should learn to run.

The people that think running is dangerous or unhealthy forget that humans are built and evolved to be able to run for hours and hours, or are either just plain lazy and look for an easy excuse.

[haxartus]

As I said, depends on the health conditions.
Also, running is dangerous for extremely fat people. You have to be moderately fat to start running.

[Gamdwelf]

Its not, when I was in highschool, everyone was supposed to be able to run 2-3km.

You think its stupid because my guess is you haven't runned for over 20 years. Kids should get mandatory, proper exercise, just like they need to learn to swim, which is also mandatory in school, they should learn to run.

The people that think running is dangerous or unhealthy forget that humans are built and evolved to be able to run for hours and hours, or are either just plain lazy and look for an easy excuse.

I ain't even runned since before I could walk.

[satimy]

They should be forced to read 3 jaylock threads a day. When they turn 18 they will hopefully have a little common sense

[Toxxie]

I'm not reading 23 pages on this, but here is a response I hope someone else has already thought of....
Be a parent and keep your own child active. The school already has enough on their plate. It isn't the schools job to ensure your kid stays fit. If someone cannot be bothered to handle that then I have no sympathy for you or your children.

My child and I run at least three evenings per week, and we remain active all week.

[Thrif]

Not just kids, there should be an obligatory hour of exercise per day for everyone, that you only could opt out of if you had really serious medical conditions.

I know it'd never work because of reasons, but if it did, we'd get a society that's a lot healthier both physically and mentally.

[Gamdwelf]

Not just kids, there should be an obligatory hour of exercise per day for everyone, that you only could opt out of if you had really serious medical conditions.

I know it'd never work because of reasons, but if it did, we'd get a society that's a lot healthier both physically and mentally.

Why don't we just get rid of all the people and have robots that we can program to do exactly what we want.

[OneSent]

The deep irony here is that school is the main reason for why kids stop running in the first place.

Kids are always running, jumping and playing from the moment they learn how to walk; it's human nature. But once that first year of school starts, those kids need to quickly learn how to "sit still" and "pay attention". "No running!", they say.

Spending several hours a day, sitting on your ass at a desk in a classroom is enough to demotivate anyone's desire to run. Sure, they might get 20-30 minutes of recess a day, but once you move on from elementary school, recess doesn't exist anymore; only more ass-to-chair time.

Oh, you thought you'd go home after school to run, play and be active with your friends? Sorry little fella, but you've got homework to do! Because 7-hours of school per day just isn't enough. So you can forget about that warm, beautiful, sunny day outside. Just sit there and read your books.

If people were so concerned about the health and physical fitness of children, then they'd stop focusing on the trivial shit, and look at the big picture. Only then would they see that the real guilty party here is school itself.

But you won't see anyone challenge that, because who'd watch the kids while both parents work? A job which probably requires them to sit on their ass for extended periods of time. Gee, I wonder where they picked up that habit from?

Moral of the story: Kids would gladly run a mile a day or more, and without being "forced" to do so. But we live in an unnatural world that restricts people from doing what humans are naturally evolved to do: be active.

[Bapestar]

What a bunch of grade A pussies modern people are. There's literally no activity that's more natural and intrinsically human than running. The percentage of people that die from jogging a couple miles is vanishingly small. This, "I'd better not run lest I risk my heart bursting" mentality is outright pathetic.

I can't stop laughing at this, that is exactly how some people in this thread are acting.

[Fairybolt]

Rarely post, but I thought I'd add my experience. I'm a type 2 diabetic (through putrid genetics) who has always been physically fit, mostly to ward off what eventually happened anyway. I ran track in high school, ran through college, and ran into my 30s until I trashed a knee.

My experience is that any sort of cardio will do kids (and adults) well, but running is exceedingly hard on your joints. After knee surgery I switched to yoga and a recumbent bike, and my doctor is after me to cut back to maintain my current weight. Exercise should be tailored to the individual in question. Heavy folks should probably swim or bike given the stress extra weight puts on joints.

Diet factors in too. Being a diabetic I watch my carbs primarily, and that's likely a good solution as it is. Most people fault sugar or fat, but, really, I maintain a 1600 calorie diet and there are days, if I eat a lot of veggies, I struggle to even meet that. Drop the processed food, bike for 30 minutes a day, treat yourself once or twice a week, and you'll be fine.