Engaging in sports plays a significant role in promoting health and wellness among children and adolescents. Although sports participation provides numerous physical and social benefits, it also has a downside: the risk of sports-related injuries. Many children and adolescents are treated in the emergency department each year for sports and recreation-related injuries. However, by playing competitive sports, you can keep obesity rates down, you can have a very strong mental health, and lastly, you can insure a healthy lifestyle for your future self.
In addition, by playing a sport, you can significantly lower the likelihood of becoming obese or overweight in your future years. According to The Aspen Institute, “Adolescents who play sports are eight times as likely to be active at age 24 as adolescents who do not play sports.” “77% of adults age 30+ who play sports today played sports as school-aged children. Only 3% of adults who play sports currently did not play when they were young.” Says Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at Harvard University. Playing a sport at a youthful age is very important in order to ensure that you are healthy in the future.
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Not only does playing a sport help your physical health but also your mental health.
“Studies also show that exercise has a positive influence on depression. Physical self-worth and physical self-perception, including body image, has been linked to improved self-esteem.” Says Sports and Development. A number of studies have shown that exercise may play a therapeutic role in addressing a number of psychological disorders. Sports are one of the most popular ways to reduce negativity and mental disorders in your
brain. The obesity rates are skyrocketing and by playing a sport you can lower that rate greatly. According to Anahad O'Connor, “Nationwide, about a third of high school students are overweight or obese, a figure that has prompted federal efforts to boost physical activity of any kind among teenagers.” “Health officials recommend that children get an average of about one hour a day of moderate to vigorous activity, but most fall far short of that.” Says The New York Times. Playing sports is a disguised way to exercise because when playing a sport, you seem to forget that you are exercising. This is because your mind is on something else other than just trying to lose weight and burn calories. In conclusion, engaging in sports plays a significant role in promoting health and wellness among children and adolescents. However, more children are playing sports at younger ages, and consequently doctors are seeing more sports-related injuries in children. Sports, whether team-based or individual, are a great activity for children that provide a variety of benefits like physical activity, mental health, and you can insure a healthy lifestyle for your future self.
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.
Sports are a popular pastime among all ages and types of people. People not only participate in them for fun, but also for money, physical fitness, rush of competition, and for many other personal reasons. Playing sports is especially common among young people in schools. Athletics are great and enjoyable for many reasons, but there can be a point where sports participation can go too far and become negative for children and adults. Sports specialization for young people is an increasing trend that results in sports having a negative impact on individuals and society.
Involving your child in sports is important part of growing up. There are several benefits to children playing sports. The child will learn how to make friends outside of school, church, and family. It will help develop self-esteem and physical skills. They discover what it means to be a member of a team, and how to win and lose with self-respect. Children also need to be active every day; exercise promotes growth and improves physical and emotional health. The Office of the Surgeon General states that active children are at less risk to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease as well as many cancers (Office of the Surgeon General, January 11, 2007).
Kids get many injuries from sports. Some are more serious than others, like concussions. “Concussions symptoms include short term effects like nausea, dizziness, and trouble concentrating” ( Long term effects of a concussion include brain damage, memory loss, and depression. These symptoms could lower kids academic status, and miss school. Kids 13 years and younger have doubled with the amount of concussions, that are sports related. This is happening because of ball related sports which include, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball and hockey. Not only can we eliminate stress, but we can also cut down on injuries from the sports that caused them.
Some hypothesize that moderate levels of exercise will decrease the symptoms of mental health conditions (Blumenthal et al., 2007; Diaz & Motta, 2008; Motta, Kuligowski, & Marino, 2010; Rosenbaum, Nguyen, Lenehan, Tiedemann, van der Ploeg, & Sherrington, 2011) and therefore be used as an alternative or complimentary treatment option for mental health (Libby, Pilver, & Desai, 2012).
Youth sports can cause multiple problems for young athletes, but the solutions are simple. I have never played sports but I have many classmates who have, I can’t talk from experience but I can talk from hearing their painful stories. One of my friends had to stop playing sports because if she got hurt one more time it would be really really hard to even walk again. According to Scope magazine articles, “Playing with Pain” and “Travel Team Heartbreak” youth sports have become less fun and more dangerous. In “Playing with Pain” (12-15) Michelle Crouch reports that “Playing through pain is considered heroic, and winning is everything.” (14) She says that most teens live by that saying. They ignore the pain and it gets worse. The solution is
Sports psychology is the study of how psychology influences sports, athletic performance, exercise and physical activity. Some sports psychologists work with professional athletes and coaches to improve performance and increase motivation. Other professionals use exercise and sports to enhance people’s lives and well-being. While finding ways to help athletes is certainly an important part of sports psychology, the application of exercise and physical activity for improving the lives of non-athletes is also a major focus.
Kids playing sports can lose unwanted weight and can stay healthier in general. Being physically active can contribute to a happier, healthier lifestyle. Also, in the article Yes! It’s Time to Scale Back written by Amanda Ripley it states that physically active kids score higher on tests, focus more, and solve problems better.
In my article, Specializing in Youth Sports, Good or Bad, I touched on the current increase in injuries to young competitors playing sports. Just the fact that the sheer number of young athletes participating has gone up over the last several decades, would automatically cause an upswing in the number of young sports enthusiasts having to seek medical attention. There is just an inherent physical risk in competitive sports that cannot be denied. However, it does appear (even with the greater numbers participating) that the number of young athletes being injured, and the severity of those injuries, is quite large.
Plato once stated “The greatest mistake physicians make is that they attempt to cure the body without attempting to cure the mind, yet the mind and the body are one and should not be treated separately!” Thousands of years later, this mistake is still occurring; but this time in youth sports. Youth sports is viewed as an effective activity for solving problems and promoting life-long development. The number of participants increase yearly, due to numerous benefits that comes with youth sports. The benefits of youth sports include: creating motor and sport-specific skills convertible into physical capital, improving health, fitness, and an overall sense of physical well-being an increased self-confidence, self-esteem, and positive body image,
Several researches have revealed that physical exercise has relieved many people from symptoms of anxiety and depression. During physical activity and exercise, the body produces a type of chemical called “serotonin”, a chemical that aids while dealing with anxiety, stress and depression. Studies also have shown that people who participate in sports results in higher self- esteem and a more positive self- image. Many studies made conclusions that adolescents and students who take part in sports and physical activities tend to have positive and higher self esteem than students who do not play sports and often tend to result better in academic performances at school.
Sports in general reduce can improve your mental health by stress and depression, when you are physically active your mind can be distracted from daily stressors. 2 Also, exercising can help you to reduce the levels of stress hormones inside of your body.
On the other hand, the 10% of high schoolers who do get the recommended amount of daily exercise, also carry the habit over into adulthood. To increase that 10%, kids should be encouraged to play sports before they reach their middle school years. This will physically and mentally benefit kids, all while teaching them important life skills. Playing sports on a regular basis can physically benefit kids greatly in many ways. Not only does it reduce the chances of certain diseases, but it also helps kids get into good shape.
It reduces risks of cardiovascular disease, improves mood, and decreases risks for many diseases. According to Potter and Perry, “A program of regular physical activity and exercise has the potential to enhance all aspects of a patient’s health” (Potter, Perry, Stockhart, & Hall, 2016, 787). Over the last few decades, many studies have been done on the correlation between exercise and mental health, and how exercise might be able to help patients recover from depression. (Stathopoulou & Powers, 2006, para 1). While evidence that exercise can work in lieu of medications as well as in concert with medications to help ease the symptoms of depression in the clinically depressed is mounting, there is no guarantee that exercise will be the magic cure for which patients are
“Physical activity is vital to the holistic development of young people, fostering their physical, social and emotional health” (Levesque). Sports affect a child's development in beneficial ways to encourage young athletes. Although starting sports at a young age can be harmful, it teaches children morals including responsibility, leadership, and determination. One third of the highest excelling students in high school participate in some type of sport. Of the children who are born into poverty, those who participate in sports have a higher chance of making it out and being successful in life. In America, one difficult problem is childhood obesity, playing sports can help alleviate obesity. Sports have an enormous impact on the youth of America, those who participate are going to be more developed and hard working individuals