A recent study reported in BBC News suggests than half the kids in Europe will be obese by 2020. Only one in ten kids gets an hour a day of exercise.

The suggestions by the study authors are heroic - 2 hours of PE and sport a day in school, make kids walk places instead of driving them, etc. Heroic, as in "that ain't gonna happen." Can you imagine the school system that will throttle back on math and science to make more time for gym class? And how many of us feel safe letting our kids wander through suburbs and cities to their destinations.

Luckily, the requirements for exercise aren't as stark as these researchers would have us believe. Walking, dancing, playing, climbing, jumping - the natural activities of childhood - all qualify. We don't need to get out our stopwatches and put kids on treadmills. In fact, mandating and formalizing exercise is a sure way to turn them off for life. 

Like everything else we want our kids to do, we've got to model the behavior. If we spend our leisure time in front of the TV or computer, our kids will surely honor us by imitation.

PE classes that focus on competitive sports rather than activities that can promote lifelong fitness do disservice not just to the non-jocks, but to the jocks themselves. A recent NYTimes article talked about former high school athletes who are now completely out of shape - because it's hard to play football or lacrosse when you're a 35 year old with a job.

The biggest culprit in making fitness inaccessible has got to be the fitness industry itself. Wanna get in shape? Join a gym, or buy one for your home. Neither is a recipe for success for 99% of the population, but we've become convinced that those are the only two options available.

The key to fitness is a life of movement. Last time I checked, homo sapiens was still an animal species. Unlike plants, animals move around. So here's the million dollar question if you want to improve your fitness: "What's my opportunity to move here?" Ask it 20 times a day, and you're onto something.

What we model, our kids will copy.

And besides, until we're fit ourselves, we won't have the energy to drag them away from the flickering blue lights.