By now almost everyone has heard about child obesity in America, but just how high are the rates? The answer might surprise you. According to Nate Whitman, a writer for The Huffington Post, “rates of obesity have doubled in 2- to 5-year-olds, quadrupled in 6- to 11-year-olds, and tripled in 12- to 19-year-olds” (par. 2). This is due to more children staying inside and only doing activities such as video games. They do not interact with anyone besides whomever they are talking to online. These findings are astonishing to say the least. What can we do to combat this? Involvement in organized sports helps children develop their social skills, improve their academic progress, and stay active. One of the positives of youth participation in sports is that it is an effective way of children making new friends and developing social skills. Sports teams provide an introduction for children to talk to other children with whom they may not talk normally. This is a huge opportunity for overweight children that might not socialize with others very often. As Ann Rosewater – a spokeswoman for the organization Up2Us – puts it, “overweight children have reported that the best part of organized sports is making new friends” (13). Teamwork can create a strong bond between athletes who compete together. Working toward a common goal gives children a reason to become good friends in an attempt to reach their endeavor of winning. They learn to help other children when they see them having a tough time and learn to offer words of encouragement to them (Harle par. 3). Children are given a sense of camaraderie by playing a sport with peers and that sense can become so strong that they will go as far as considering each other a second family.... ... middle of paper ... ...rsity, 1 Nov. 2004. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Adams, Jill U. "Physical Activity May Help Kids Do Better in School, Studies Say."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Doheny, Kathleen. "Kids Who Exercise More May Get Better Grades – WebMD."WebMD. WebMD, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Harle, Wade. "Benefits of Teamwork in Sports." LIVESTRONG.COM. Livestrong, 12 Apr. 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Mahesh, Roshni. "Regular Exercises Can Help Children Excel in Studies." Business & Health. International Business Times, 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. Rosewater, Ann. "Playing Well - Organized Sports and the Health of Children and Youth." Up2Us - Home. Up2Us, May 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Whitman, Nate. "Physical Activity in Schools Is Essential to Reversing Childhood Obesity." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Athletes in times of difficulty can be important role models.” This shows that sports are in fact helpful because they can grow children into being important role models for the rest of society. Studies have shown time and time again that playing sports can be beneficial to children and we also believe this to be true. Many people still think that sports cause “too many injuries”, or coaches “are not fair enough”, but adolescents will experience these things all throughout their lives because injury can happen anywhere and they will not always be the best at what they are doing. Sports are beneficial to the youth because they can teach children and teens important life skills, help them maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, all while improving their mental health.
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 ...
(Callender, n.d.). With this participation gradually increasing in the U.S. adolescents, sport specialization including year-round sport specific training, participation on multiple teams of the same sport, and focused participation in a single sport is also claimed to be increasing in frequency in predolescent children across the world (Mostafavifar, n.d.). Children have been involved in little leagues since the 1800’s, and with the rising problems of obesity in today’s children, I believe it is important to encourage involvement in physical activity. This could be either a positive or negative viewpoint on early sport specialization, depending on how it is looked at. It is estimated that between 18 and 28 million American children are to be involved in some type of organized sports participation.
Participating in a sport at an early age can be essential to the overall growth process during a child’s upbringing. Whether the participation is through some sort of organized league or just getting together amongst friends and playing, the lessons learned from this can help teach these kids and provide a positive message to them as they develop. There is a certain point, however, when organized sports can hinder progress, which is when adults get too involved and forget about the underlying reason to why they are helping. While adult involvement is necessary, adult involvement can sometimes send the wrong message to children when they try to make participation become more than just about fun and learning. According to Coakley (2009), “organized sports are worth the effort put forth by adults, as long as they do what is in the best interest of their children and put that thought ahead of their own agenda” (Coakley, p. 151). This is a valid argument because once adults put themselves in front of the children and their values, it needs to be re-evaluated as to why they first got involved in the beginning. Partaking in organized sport and activity from a young age can be beneficial to the overall development of children, as long as decisions actions are made in the best interest of the children and not stemming from ulterior motives of adults.
The cases show that gym class helps students do better educationally and personally. A study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine had fourth- and fifth-grade students run around or exercise by other means for at least ten minutes. While those students were running and exercising, other fourth- and fifth grade students stayed in the classroom and sat quietly. After the ten minutes, all students took math exam. The group of students who exercised or ran for ten minutes before the exam did noticeably better and scored higher on their exam than the group of students who sat inside quietly before the test (“Gym Help Students”). This study shows that physical activity during the school day goes hand in hand with doing better and receiving better scores. Another study has been conducted to try and prove or disprove if being fit from gym class has anything to do with doing better in school. This study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics and was conducted with children and students from Nebraska. 12,000 students participated in the study. Each student’s physical fitness was measured using things such as a timed run and the student’s body mass index. Then they measure each student’s academic achievements in English and mathematics based on the state’s standardized test scores. Being in better physical shape was linked significantly higher test scores. However, the body size of a student didn’t seem to have any influence over whether or not they did well on their tests. Students who were overweight but still fit and physically active had higher test scores than students who were of lighter weights but were not fit or physically active (“Gym Help Students”). When students are able to pass more fitness tests, they seem to be able to do better on standardized and general tests. Students
Martin, K. (2010) Brain Boost: sport and physical activity enhance children’s learning. Retrieved from http://www.dsr.wa.gov.au//assets/files/Research/Brain%20boost_emailer.pdf
Participation in sports has proven to increase self-discipline and self-esteem, and can teach athletes to learn from their mistakes and move on (Issitt). Athletes playing team sports also develop the ability to work well with others and use teamwork in their everyday lives. Teammates form relationships that are strengthened over a common passion and goal. These relationships can last long after high school is over (Chen). These social skills translate into better communication used with an athlete’s family, peers, and in the community. Likewise, “A 2006 study in Maryland found that student athletes are 15 percent more likely than non athletes to be involved in their communities and to take the time for civic engagements, including participating in voting and volunteer activities” (Issitt). The same study also concluded that athletes are far more likely to be comfortable with public speaking than non-athletes. This study provides concrete evidence that high school sports can help to gain mental and social skills that will be used later in life
Physical activity enhances children’s quantitative development within middle childhood, supporting growth toward healthy strong people, physically and psychology. Middle childhood is documented as being between the ages of six to ten years old. A lack of physical activity affects children across all areas of development; it is not restricted within the domain of physical development. Discussed within are the expectations of motor development within middle childhood, the benefits of physical activity and the consequences of prolonged inactivity. Along with how a student’s physical development facilitates or restricts development in other areas and how the learning environment can accommodate and support the physical needs of students.
Children who participate in sports are influenced to take their education more seriously and lower the risk of dropping out of school, because they have the desire to
Physical activity in general is associated with improved academic achievement, including grades and standardized test scores,”(("Facts: Sports Activity and Children. " Facts: Sports Activity and Children | Project Play. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).
With more technology to feel the gap of physical labor for humans and poor nutrition, obesity is rising and people are not living up to their potential. Children have been spending more time indoors with a screen in their face and a controller in their hand. Lack of physical activity not only causes obesity, but lack of brain power and achievement. Children and their families need to be taught the proper ways of how to be healthy in physical education classes to maintain their health across their life span. By incorporating in more lifelong knowledge about health into our physical education systems, obesity rates will drop and students will do much better in school.
A school’s main priority is to have a student succeed in the classroom, and it is proven that physical education helps this. There has been many studies done to prove that this is true. For example, a study done by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education performed a study on if education correlates with maintaining good physical condition. The researchers tested many different physical traits such as aerobic capacity, body composition, flexibility and others. The results proved that there’s a direct relationship between physical fitness and improved academic achievement" (Studies Show That Physically Active Kids Perform Better Academically." SPARK PE. SPARK, 2011. Web. 26 May 2014. ). What many...
Chomitz, Slining, McGowan, Mitchell, Dawson, Hacker. (January 2009). Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results From Public School Children in the Northeastern United States. Journal of School Health, Vol. 79, Issue 1, 30-37.
“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