According to John J. Ratey, MD only six percent of American schools offer a physical education class. A few months ago I began studying neuroplasticity to find a way to help deal with anger disorders, while researching this topic I discovered this horrifying fact.

Most of us are aware of the extreme obesity issue in America and most have an opinion about what caused this conflict, but not many people have an opinion on how to solve it. I believe we can change this percentage one signature at a time.

Physical activity and being active can immensely affect the body in multiple beneficial ways and is the fastest way to lose weight but also can dramatically reduce stress, anger, anxiety and can even be a healthy alternative to synthetic attention deficit disorder pills such as Ritalin. Adam Leibovitz is one of thousands that have proven exercise dramatically affects focus over time and within months he decided to rid himself of Ritalin and has proven to have cured his ADHD. Adam did this by competitively cycling. Cardiovascular activities such as dodgeball, kickball, running and basketball produce chemicals in the brain that are proven to reduce stress and improve focus, which usually results in mood improvement.

As a senior in High School, I personally see kids on a daily basis that struggle from depression, anger, ADHD, extreme amounts of stress and insecurities involving their weight and exercise is proven to affect all of these issues in a positive way. It’s baffling to me that we have such a low amount of students involved in gym class but with your help we can change six percent to 100 percent!