The President, in a battle to battle youth obesity and the declining use of national parks and rivers named that June will be the Great Outdoors Month. As a result of the recent outdoors movement doctors across the United States are prescribing outdoor activities to help Americans reconnect with the outdoors and to reduce youngster obesity rates. This surge in outdoor activities like camping, hiking, backpacking, and canoeing not just causes an increase in the number of Americans using parks however it also is helping to make people healthier. Many of the doctors that are encouraging the use of outdoor medication are doing so because they have realized that it has benefits even beyond getting people to exercise.
The doctor’s prescriptions are not only recommendations to go outdoors. Some Best activites on the Gold Coast are including maps and arrangements of activities that patients can do when they go to parks. By providing arrangements of activities doctors are hoping to help people that do not regularly use parks and consequently probably would not know what to do once they get there. One thing that I also enjoy is that some health providers are on board with the doctor’s prescription and they are reimbursing patients for park entrance fees. When these health providers pay for park fees it makes parks more accessible to a wider range of people. Not exclusively does the increase in activity help keep health care cost down for the provider and patients however it also really has a benefit to a large amount of people.
I personally love this program and wish that I could get a doctor’s note to go fishing or hiking! The outdoors is our most precious resource and it saddens me that only a handful of people actually use it. By encouraging more and more people to use the outdoors we can provide better resources because revenues will increase and we can take better care of our aging park system. The program is helping to encourage children to get out and play. Although video games and the internet are great sources of entertainment many people have taken their use too far. Some children do not even know about the outdoors and they are not aware of all the activities that they can do outside because they have not been exposed to them before. We blame parents for not showing their children the outdoors. As a parent you are responsible for your kid’s well being and in the event that you simply thud them in front of a computer or video game their lack knowledge about the outdoors causes great damage to the children and future children to come.