Turn off tube, get fit

We Americans love our sports — watching them, that is.

Fewer Americans are playing sports, according to this year's Statistical Abstract. This is a disturbing trend, which, invariably, is contributing to a decline in our collective level of fitness. According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, about one third of American teens would fail a treadmill test. That means some 7 million youngsters could face higher risks for heart disease later in life.

Who's to blame? We can blame genetics. We can fault the fast pace of our lives that leaves little time for preparing healthy meals and regular exercise. But at the end of the day, we have to take responsibility for our respective levels of wellness. Sadly, too few Americans are making exercise and good nutrition their priorities.

But it's understandable that more and more people are tuning into sports. Cable television has brought a wide array of sports to the small screen that were previously considered niche activities or perhaps not even true sports, such as poker. For the traditional fare — football, basketball and hockey — technology has vastly improved how sports events are televised. There are dozens of cameras in place to capture every angle of the action, nifty graphics and engaging play-by-play and color announcers.

For as much as Americans like to watch, fewer are picking up the golf clubs, tennis racquets or even jogging. One theory is that children are taught, intentionally or not, that they should not play sports if they are not good at them. Andrew Yiannakis, a sports sociologist at the University of Connecticut, told Associated Press that it happens when kids get cut from sports teams or the coach benches them for poor play. "It is an elitist system that encourages the best to play and rest to be fans and spectators," Yiannakis said.

If nothing else, this should be a cautionary tale about parents' interactions with their children in youth sports programs. For many, winning is the end game. Perhaps parents should invest more energy in helping their children cultivate a love of sport — playing sports for the fun of it. Perhaps play — as opposed to organized sports leagues — needs to become a higher priority.

That means turning off the TV, the video games, iPods and other electronic devices that tend to occupy our free time. It means occasionally making a fool of ourselves while walking the dog, shooting hoops in the driveway or riding a bicycle. But we'll be winners in terms of better health. That beats watching a gold medal-winning performance on TV any day.