Physical Activity is important to middle childhood (6 – 10 year olds) because it gives them good self esteem and looks after their holistic health. It teaches our children to make healthy choices with food and to exercise from an early age. As a teacher it is important to role model so children know what is expected of them. In the body of this essay I will talk about why physical activity is important in the middle childhood age and what my role as a teacher is in preventing and addressing obesity. Finally I will discuss ways a teacher could assist in preventing and or addressing obesity.
For middle childhood (6 -10 year olds) physical activity is important for their holistic health and growth. It is important for the prevention of diseases such as: type 2 diabetes, blood pressure/hyper tension, heart disease, strokes and osteoarthritis. (Department of Health and Ageing - About Overweight and Obesity www.health.gov.au>...>Promoting Healthy Weight). Excessive eating leads to obesity, obese children have lower self-esteems and are less popular with peers then normal weight children (Graves, Meyers & Clark, 1998).
Children that have obese parents are more likely to grow up to be obese adults. Children build on their physical capabilities and gross motor skills, elementary children now use running around to play organised games and sports instead of just for the joy of it. They intensify their coordination and speed in running, kicking, catching and dribbling. Once children better their skills at sports it can be very gratifying to them. (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010.p.161)
Organised sports can be an outlet for exercise; it maintains and enhances physical strength, endurance and agility. It also promotes social development with...
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... River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
The Role of Schools in Preventing Childhood Obesity, 2004. The state education standard. www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/physicalactivity/roleofschools_obesity
Thomas J. Berndt (1992) Child Development
www.realtime.net/anr/10eattip.html
www.wiggleintohealth.com.healthy_eating_habits
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References
Department of Health and Ageing - About Overweight and Obesity www.health.gov.au>...>Promoting Healthy Weight
McDevitt, T.M., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Child development and education (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
The Role of Schools in Preventing Childhood Obesity, 2004. The state education standard. www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/physicalactivity/roleofschools_obesity
Thomas J. Berndt (1992) Child Development
www.realtime.net/anr/10eattip.html
www.wiggleintohealth.com.healthy_eating_habits
Many would argue that children should not focus on their weight because children should lead a youth with little worries, yet obesity affects a child much more than people with that argument think. Being overweight can cause increased risks for several serious diseases and even can result in decreased mental health on account of low self-esteem and social discrimination. Children who are overweight also are at least twice as likely to have heart disease, diabetes, and orthopedic problems (Internicola, 2009). Sadly, children are being pressured into unhealthy lifestyles even more so than adults are.
Up to 17% of children and teens in the United States are obese (Centers). Obesity is unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise and is responsible for up to 365,000 deaths each year. Obesity is strongly associated with a decrease in the ability to exercise. An overabundance of fat tissue, which occurs from obesity, impairs the breathing process. The impairment of the breathing processes in youth has been linked to more damaging breathing problems in adulthood. The lack of exercise that starts a child down this path can be reversed and good exercising habits can be instilled by parents. Therefore if 1 out of 3 children are obese, what does that say about the health and wellbeing of these children? It says that these children can look forward to a life of medical problems, emotional issues, and higher costs than their non-obese counterparts. The most pressing of which are heart disease, type 2 diabetes, pulmonary...
Exercise, food, technology, and money all play a role in causing childhood obesity. Lack of exercise among adolescents has been proven to be the leading cause of childhood obesity. According to a May 2012 Institute of Medicine report, only half of America’s children and one in four teens get enough activity to meet current guidelines (Doheny and Noonman 1). The recommendations call for children to participate in at least 60 minutes of vigorous to moderate physical activity every day (Hendrick 1). “Only four percent of elementary schools, eight percent of middle schools, and two percent of high schools provide daily physical ...
other hand, obesity accounts for about 13 percent of children in the United States, which is why physical education programs should be one of the last things to go. They also help students release the stress they have built up through out the day and teach them the ...
Sroufe, Alan L., Cooper, Robert G., DeHart, Ganie B. (1992). Child Development, Its Nature and Course (2nd edt.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
A child who is obese is automatically more likely to be exposed to a variety of health hazards throughout his or her life. It is estimated that “15 percent of children between six and nineteen suffer from obesity” (Lee and Sprague). A person who is deemed obese, is someone who has “a body fat percentage of more than 25 percent in boys and 32 percent in girls” (Lee and Sprague). Being severely overweight exposes you to more diseases than someone who is not overweight. Obese people “are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes . . . [from] being overweight” (Lee and Sprague). Some health issues, such as hypertension, heart attacks, and cancer can be obtained from being obese. There is also a great risk of “heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and other chronic illnesses” when you are obese (“Hope”). high cholesterol as well as high blood pressure. Being obes...
McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Child development and education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
The present public health problem has become a great public concern and the future of these children and future adults has also been brought to attention. For example, "as obese children are more than likely to become obese adults, they are at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and several cancers" (Gollust, 2014). Research has also indicated that the current generation of children are on track to have shorter lives than their parents because of increasing rates of obesity (Gollust, 2014).
Fitness education could, in the immediate future, play a major role in the reduction of childhood obesity, as well as obesity throughout all age ranges, while simultaneously increasing the overall health of all individuals. In order for this to happen, fitness education must be incorporated into all levels of schooling, and be made more available to the adult population who were deprived of it during their school age, adolescent, and young adulthood stages of life. Fitness education is accompanied by a plethora of health benefits asides from obesity reduction which mustn't be overlooked. Join me as we explore these benefits and see how fitness education can be applied.
Whitman, Nate. "Physical Activity in Schools Is Essential to Reversing Childhood Obesity." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
McDevitt, T., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Child development and education (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
National Center for Children in Poverty. Early childhood education. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Retrieved 08 2010, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Early_childhood_education&oldid=377988928. Erikson’s Stages of Development. a.
Physical education in schools improves children’s physical health. Getting the recommended amount of exercise can combat obesity. “Regular physical activity can help children and adolescents improve cardiorespiratory fitness, build strong bones and muscles, control weight, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and reduce the risk of developing health conditions” (CDC.gov). PHIT America states,
“Children who exercise regularly have higher levels of self-esteem.” (Brown, W.J. & Brown P.R., 1996, p19). Teaching Physical Education can have immediate health benefits as it helps normalise body weight and body composition. Physical activity also promotes positive mental health. Both immediate outcomes may be useful in motivating physical activity practices so that they have long term benefits. One of the main benefits of physical activity is that “it keeps children involved and that it invariably makes you feel good.” (Brown, W.J. & Brown P.R., 1996, p19). Getting the correct amount of Physical activity in school hours will decrease the rates of obesity and will reduce the risk of diabetes, asthma, heart disease and other health related illness’. Regular exercise for children also helps their cardiovascular health and bone development. There is also evidence that Physical Activity has a positive effect on mental health in children, including reducing anxiety and depression and improving their mood. However, there is some evidence that for children who don’t enjoy Physical Education it can have a negative impact on their self-esteem and