A few weeks ago, Dr. David Smith, a cardiologist from Doylestown hospital, came to New Hope to give a presentation on the importance of staying healthy and eating right. He explained to the ninth graders in attendance, that for the first time in history, children might not live longer than their parents because of poor lifestyle choices. Society today has made it easier for people to make bad, unhealthy decisions, and many people, particularly teens, are taking full advantage of this.
Ever since the 1970s, the audience was told, obesity numbers have risen in adolescents and teenagers. Coincidentally, the 1970s were also when fast food restaurants started appearing, jobs stopped involving physical labor, and food was available all the time. In 1996 the average weight of a 15 year old girl was 124lbs and the average 15 year old boy was 135lbs. By 2002, the average weight of a girl had risen by 10lbs and the average boy’s weight by 15. Today those numbers are even higher.
Dr. Smith informed the freshmen that the problem with being overweight as a teen, it it makes it more likely for that person to become obese as an adult. The doctor then shared easy ways for people to prevent this problem from happening to them: get lots of exercise and make smart food choices. As overused as this advice is, Dr. Smith still emphasized its importance and how well it worked.
To show an example of a healthy heart, Dr. Smith picked a student from the audience. After hooking Jack Elliott up to a sonogram machine, Mrs. Blanchard, Dr. Smith’s colleague, found Jack’s heart. Dr. Smith pointed out the heart’s flapping valves and showed students that they could even hear the blood rushing through the heart’s three chambers.
After the heart demonstration, students were shown a cow’s heart and a pig’s heart and then allowed to go up and examine them. Though some students stayed in their seats refusing to even approach the hearts, a line quickly formed in front of the table. The cow heart was large, almost the size of a head, and covered in fat. One person poking at it with a hand safely encased in a rubber glove seemed to think that if thrown on a grill, the heart might make a good steak. The pig heart looked to be more around the size of the human heart and appeared generally more healthy though far less appetizing.
The heart assembly was to some disgusting, to others interesting. Either way, it taught students that although America is getting fatter, they are still ways people can prevent it by staying fit, eating healthy, and spreading the word of a healthy lifestyle. It also provided a chance for students to be able to say they touched a pig heart, a memory that although some will try, most will never be able to forget.