In France obesity has become an astonishing problem, the cases doubled over the last 12 years. The problem is bigger in the Northern part of the county, the region around Paris and one area in the south. There is a link between social class and obesity. There was an article about the issue published in a daily French newspaper for yougsters, L'actu, a fabulous source for children, adapted to their age and to the time they want to spend to reading 'their' newspaper. Active and passive learning: two ways of passing your leisure time. Reading feeds the intellectual appetite as sports does for the physical needs, a natural balance if we could divide the world in these two blocks. In our zap world there are millions of possibilities in spending time. Going outdoor and jumping around to keep fit needs energy from both kids and parents. Staying indoor with fancy electronics is easy, no need to move around, no physical energy flow. Time seems to be the bottleneck. hanging in front of the screens is one of the main reasons kids get fatter in all countries. Cheap unhealthy food is another cause. Not easy. Schools and state ruled institutions should worry about these issues. Bad nutrition and young people's health is a complex subject and it is difficult to say who is to blame. One could think of more healthy food in school cafetaria's or to work out together with your kids or not using the car for short distances or gardening like Michele Obama. Information is not enough. Action is the keyword. taking your own responsability is an urgent need. Learning by playing an old philosophy, interaction between math and sport, choir and gymnastics, art and outside drawing. Creative species is what we should try to be, like all those amazing and spectacular technology architects. Body and spirit a balance to search for. Mens sana in corpore sano.
