Exercise is an activity that is never overlooked, yet a lot of people never really integrate it into their lives. We’re even required to take a class on personal fitness (a.k.a. how to exercise properly and what kinds of exercise you should do to keep yourself healthy) in order to graduate from high school. Yet a huge number of kids take this class online and don’t end up truly experiencing what it’s like to exercise. Sure, in elementary/middle school, everyone takes at least a quarter of P.E. (a class I never liked,) but once you get to high school, you’re allowed to take this class online. Especially with the new “sign-off” method that allows you to basically skip the workouts and let your fitness sponsor (who could really be almost anyone) just sign off whatever you want to make up; kids aren’t really exercising. Of course, there are those who dutifully complete all of their workouts, record their heart rates and genuinely try to get into the target heart rate zone for at least 10 minutes per workout.

We’ve all heard the child obesity in America spiel and how we all need to be active, exercise for 60 minutes every day (no offense, but seriously? Who has time for that?) and eat healthy (eat your vegetables!) But in all honesty, especially with the overwhelming amount of work high school students are expected to do, the amount of time we have left for exercising is minimal. Of course, I’m not talking about the students who put in a lot of time and effort into various sports and other physical recreation activities whom I truly admire for their dedication to perfect their abilities in a sport. However, I personally don’t know a single person who exercises for at least 60 minutes a day, even my friends who spend most, if not all of their time practicing and training for a sport.

Most of the excuses students give are complaints of no time, no reason, no place to exercise, no knowledge of how to exercise (believe me, I’ve heard that one before) and this list could probably go on for a very long time. The bottom line is most people are just too lazy to exercise. To be honest, most of the time it’s not that fun. Who would voluntarily go out of their way to work out, which makes you tired, sweaty and unwilling to do anything else productive? (I’m just generalizing here; there are probably plenty of people who love to exercise.) Even for those who are trying to change their physiques, exercising doesn’t create an instant transformation. The minutest changes can take a long time to occur and require specific, physically exhausting training. Because of the long time frames that pass before one actually sees any drastic results, most people quickly lose motivation and give up on their long term goals.

However, it is this mindset that causes these huge, nation-wide epidemics. While many organizations are taking initiatives to reverse the problem of obesity, the real problem is a personal issue. There’s no one out there who can make your own body healthy for you, only you can do that yourself. Yes, these adjustments to school cafeteria lunches and increased education on how to be healthier can impact people positively. But that doesn’t change the fact that an individual can only change his/her health by owning up to his/her own problems and working to achieve a healthy physique.

People, students especially, should look upon their health as a serious issue. Being healthy can prevent countless illnesses and their complications that only multiply as you age. In addition, students often face discriminatory remarks about their physiques, but in reality, you can change that yourself! All you need is a determined mindset to keep pushing towards your goal. These barriers of unwillingness to exercise are only your own mind’s constructs, and if you try hard enough you can overcome these obstacles and strive to be healthier.