Persuasive Essay On Sports In Schools

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According to a study conducted in 2012 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, twenty percent of children in The United States are overweight. This prevalence of unhealthy children is an epidemic in America, and is largely due to them constantly being online and not getting adequate physical activity. Compared with children in the 20th century, children today are not as active because they use social media in their free time rather than going outside to play. By playing school sports, students engage in daily physical exercise and have an opportunity to connect with their classmates. Competitive sports must be in schools because they help to lower obesity rates in students, and help them to develop social skills. Keith M. Drake, a postdoctoral researcher at the Hood Center for Children and Families at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University calculated that obesity rates would plunge twenty-six percent if all students participated on two or more sports teams a year. In addition, Dr. Drake and his team found that the pervasiveness of overweight adolescents would drop by eleven percent if all of them played two sports a year. Participating in …show more content…

According to Sarah Davis, an accomplished clinical nutritionist and graduate of San Diego University, “When a child wins a game with his team, he feels accomplished and recognized… Playing sports can help kids understand how competition works in a friendly environment, and that if you try your hardest, you have a better chance to succeed.” This shows that when children play on a sports team with their peers, they learn how to work and compete as a unit. This builds character and teaches students how to work well with anyone, which translates back into the classroom when they have to work collaboratively. Overall, playing on a competitive sports team teaches children

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