How far do you have to run to burn off a cheeseburger?
Jodi Davis
| 3 min read
How can you burn food without cooking it?
That was just one of the many questions that were asked of the participants of an HBO documentary film titled “The Weight of the Nation – Kid Quiz.”
The cast of the HBO documentary consists of children who live in the United States. I found the dialogue interesting as the kids discussed what they believe are contributing towards the obesity epidemic in America. Not only was the conversation interesting, it was pretty spot-on.
Junk food, sugary drinks and the lack of physical activity were just a few of the topics that these children discussed. Many of the information I knew about, but I will admit that I also learned a few things.
The tricky question stumped the kids in the film, but not for long. The answer was simple: “Our body burns energy from the food we eat.” I’ll admit it wasn’t the answer I came up with, but it was cute and kept my attention. The children in the film are real, and their generation is tackling an epidemic that my generation didn’t have to deal with back in the 70’s or 80’s. They are concerned and have a right to be. This may be the first generation of children who will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
I highly suggest watching and absorbing this documentary. It’s fun and I feel that it also applies to adults. There are many questions that I simply could not answer, and once I heard the responses, I was amazed. Questions such as:
“How many miles does it take to run off a cheeseburger?” ANSWER: A person needs to run six miles or 105 football fields in order to burn the calories in a single cheeseburger.
“How do you lose a race after you’ve won it?” ANSWER: By eating junk-food after exercising. Even though we know that exercise is good for your heart, lungs, muscles and brain, eating junk-food after exercising can cause a person to still gain weight.
“How long does it take to swim off a bag of chips?” ANSWER: It takes an entire 31 minutes to swim off the calories in a small bag of chips. But realize that it takes only 3 minutes to swim off the calories in a carrot. I hope you like the water if you frequent the fast food restaurants because it will take 65 minutes to swim off the calories in a large order of fries. Wow.
“How can you gain weight without eating?” ANSWER: By drinking pop. Sugary drinks are a reason that children are getting becoming fatter. Drink water – it is good for you and it is free.
“How many stairs do you need to climb to burn a can of soda?” ANSWER: I hope you are wearing your comfortable shoes because it takes the effort of climbing 2605 stairs to burn the calories of one can of soda.
“What is red and yellow and makes you hungry?” ANSWER: Did you know that food companies know that the colors red and yellow make us feel hungry and eat faster? This allows us to want to eat foods that are fattening and unhealthy. And I never realized this but our kids are taking in many extra calories from food that comes in yellow and red packages. Watch the film and notice all the familiar boxes and bags that tend to find their way into our homes.
And I adore the way the youngster answered this simple question: “What is the best way to burn off fat?” ANSWER: Go outside, do everything you love and have a great time! Of course he was referring to exercise.
Exercise. It burns fat, it’s as simple as that.
Changes must be made to stop the rising obesity epidemic, our children’s (and our) health is worth the effort!
Additional documentaries on the weight of our nation can be found here.
Photo credit: samplesize
