New York – Ask any parent to name the greatest health risk they fear for their children, and most likely the answer will be “cancer.” But in reality, a much more dangerous health risk faces our children today, one, in fact, for which we—as parents and as a community—are largely responsible: obesity.1
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Obesity kills more Americans each year than AIDS, cancer and all home accidents combined. In fact, obesity is such an alarming danger that former US Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona called it the “greatest threat to public health today.”2
According to Chazal,3 the mitzvah “Venishmartem meod lenafshoteichem, Be very careful about your lives” imposes an obligation to preserve one’s health. As Orthodox Jews committed to the Torah, this mitzvah holds tremendous significance. Can you imagine any parent consciously endangering the health of his or her children?
read extended article [OU magazine]
Anon. 3:53PM (Just a “Shaygetz”) I [tend to] agree with you 100%! From my own experience, (as a Busdriver) I observed that the “Teenagers”, (Yes the Jews also have “Teenagers” with all the accompanying problems), who have an excess of [misdirected] energy (KE”H), if they express it in “SPORTS” (R”L), they [tend to] act like “NORMAL” people for the next 48 Hours. Therefore, I, (as Shaygetz # II) call for the introduction of all “Sports” programs, (R”L) in all Chassidishe Yeshivos. (SMS, not withstanding)!
As the [old], ( already?!) Refrigerator magnet says; No Fressing!
if only the goyim new what a 3 day yom tov is they will have no questins why we look this way
Anonymous said…
The Chofetz Chaim never Jogged or played baseball or basketball. Neither did the Klausenberger Rebbe, the Satmar Roov, Reb Moishe, Reb Yankov, Rav Breur, The Lubavitcher Rebbe, or Rav Shach kulom zichronim librocha. Most made it to 90+. Perhaps, just perhaps there is another path aside from pushups and golf?
April 1, 2008 6:10 AM
Hey, get your facts straight before you post! The others might have only made it into their 90’s but the Rebbe turned 106 yud alef Nissan.
106 and going strong! Yomim al yemai melech tosif!
Anonymous said…
The Chofetz Chaim never Jogged or played baseball or basketball. Neither did the Klausenberger Rebbe, the Satmar Roov, Reb Moishe, Reb Yankov, Rav Breur, The Lubavitcher Rebbe, or Rav Shach kulom zichronim librocha. Most made it to 90+. Perhaps, just perhaps there is another path aside from pushups and golf?
April 1, 2008 6:10 AM
I wasn’t going to respond to this whole topic because doing so would require me to lift my hands to the key board and exercise my fingers but you might be wrong about some of the people you mention not doing exercise and living tinto their 90’s.
I know that at least one of those named did in fact excercise pretty regularly but Artscroll didn’t own a camera when he was alive so they never got a picture of it so they didn’t mention it in his biogrophy.
The Chofetz Chaim never Jogged or played baseball or basketball. Neither did the Klausenberger Rebbe, the Satmar Roov, Reb Moishe, Reb Yankov, Rav Breur, The Lubavitcher Rebbe, or Rav Shach kulom zichronim librocha. Most made it to 90+. Perhaps, just perhaps there is another path aside from pushups and golf?
I once had the opportunity to sit next to a psychiatrist on a flight to israel. She works a lot with the frum community and her main concern was the lack of exercise.
She told me that she had once done a test on a class of kids and then she did exercise with the kids for 2 minutes and redistributed a test and the average went up by more then 20%.
Its a known fact, that exercise helps the brain. For some reason in the chasidisher community its considered a no no.
There are no official heimishe health clubs which forces many to go to not so kosher places…
A few years ago a chasidisher guy wanted to open a gym in Pamona next to Monsey. The rabbanim warned him not to open. He was even willing to pay a full time mashgiach but they would not allow.
Its a shame! Everyone needs exercise, and its about time its encouraged!
For the yeshiva to build a gym room would be great. Not all yeshiva’s have the space. The ones that do would be able to allow the ones that don’t have the space, to use their gym room. Also the kind and the amount of nash the store has is crazy. But of course they also need parnasa. Does that have to be on the account of health? I wonder. I know that overeating only gets worse with age. If someone eats to much sugar they only want more suger. It is a fix, a drug.
we train our children that an outing in a pizza store is not complete without the following 2 slices, fries,ice cream ,and a coke.this about 2000 calories just about the caloric requirement for an adult. come shabbos koidesh, each meal is unnecessarilly expanded with glutoneos consumtion under the false pretense of lekoved shabbos koidesh.toiamehoo starts on wednesday.a 10 oz bowl of chulent is 500 calories + not counting kigel, kishkeh,mezonos roll, and beverage.kiddush club members, the whiskey is 100 calories an oz.oy vay the cake,a danish chocolate or cheese is 750 calories .if someone eats an extra 100 calories a day more than they burn they will gain ten pounds a year 100 pounds a decade.so lets get food smart and moderate excersize.im a chasidish chulent and kigel eater that just lost 80 pounds by changing my eating habits .anybody can do it .im never hungry, always eating, but eating smart.so i encourage all people with food problems get educated about food
Has anybody here heard about something strange in sifrei mussar called “avodas ho’achila”?
the Ramban ties it to “kadesh atzmecho bemutar loch”, so does the “Ohr Hachaim”, and so on…
somehow excersize and frumkeit are seen as opposites in the chassidshe world. If only they would realize that the boys would learn better with more physical movement! Ball isn’t allowed, bike riding to yeshiva is assur, playing sports is goyish,the y is a problem, etc!! Someone has to wake the chassidishe mosdoser up!!!
The RAA BONIM should stop giving Hashgochos on so much JUNK food.
Gevalt! You walk into a supermarket and you got half the store full of junk food. Let’s see VIN – WE NEED A CALL TO ACTION! You succeed with this and you are a VIN-NER.
I have said for years that yeshivot should have mandatory physical fitness classes and organized sports for the young boys and girls. And for that I was called a “shaygetz” and other names.
If you check with medical professionals, you will learn about the syndrome of “yeshiva bochur’s spine” where the spine bends forward from too many hours “sitting”. This leads to life long health problems. But, hey don’t listen to me; I’m just a shaygetz.
Obesity a problem in the Jewish community? Even Ray Charles can see that!!**
**(For the uninformed Ray Charles was Blind…and Dead)
me being a fat man myself, i will risk being called a hypocrite to spread ‘the good word’
Activity and making smart decisions regarding the food we eat and especially the food we feed our children, is paramount to any class, torah study etc.
is it not the rambam who says “health first”?
BMI is not a valid measure of anything. Muscle weighs more than fat and those with greater bone density have a higher BMI. The highest BMI is found among professional athletes.
What is universal in the Western world is that no one wants to cook, but everyone likes to eat. Until someone decides that the health of the family is worth several hours in the kitchen each week, obesity and all of the related diseases that come from it will continue to plague our society.
Everyone has time to run to doctors and plenty of money for petrochemical vitamin pills but no one seems to have time or money for fresh fruits and vegetables. And how many will make a nice stew or soup instead of cold cuts or some other convenience food?
When the children have enough fuel in their bodies, they will stop being couch potatoes functioning in starvation mode. Yes, that is correct, the most overweight children are also starving from malnutrition and this is why their bodies store the sugars that they crave as fat instead of burning them.
I agree there is no exercise in Yeshiva or girls school.There should be at least one and a half hours a week of physical exercise.
Regarding eating look whats in the food today all kinds of garbage.
obesity is not just a problem among the chulent and kugel eaters. it is a problem with every nationality here. i think its very important for the kids to be active. yeshiva kids have a much longer day thatn those in public school and therefore need to be pushed to do some exercise. parents, join the kids in a fun speed walk, time it and see if u can lower the total time each time you go. but a pedometer and see how many steps it is to bubis house. make the exercise fun. also, pardon me for saying so but cut back on the fatty foods and lower the amount of salt you add when you cook. most foods have delicious natural flavors and dont need to be drowned in salt.
Shmiel, YTV and other yeshivos have a publication called “Soveya”, written about eating habits and healthy living, distributed to the parents each Friday.
Additionally, PHYS. ED. (!!) MUST be inculcated into the HEBREW curriculum to allow for adequate exercise during the long hours. (The yeshivos don’t allow enough time for English studies as it is.)
The same way the Rebbeim have rotating responsibilies during recess, they can supervise organized game play and formal exercise, like many Bais Yaakovs have.
WHAT CAN BE DONE !! THERE IS A LOT WE CAN DO
MORE OUTDOOR PLAY EVEN WITHIN THE YESHIVA FRAMEWORK (FRIDAYS /SUNDAYS) ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO GO OUT “AND DO SOMETHING”
MAYBE PLAY SOME BALL WITH THEM
LESS NOSH JUST DUMP SOME (NOT ALL) OF THAT MISHLOACH MANOS WHEN THEYRE NOT LOOKING
2 QUICK POINTS
AS A HEAD COUNSELOR OF A CHASSIDISHE DAY CAMP I DID A LITTLE STUDY AND DID NOT SEE A NOTICABLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEIMISHE KIDS AND THE WORLD AT LARGE
SHMIEL GLASSMAN
1.
I learn B’iyun, B’kius, halacha, Mishna, Mussar, Machshava, Chassidus, say tehillim, obviously go to minyan three times a day and have to also work. I am also a husband and a father. You expect me to fulfill my duties to HaShem, my wife, my children AND the gym in one short day? Gevalt