Children & Exercise
Facts:
· Obesity is at an all time high in the US. Michigan has one of the highest
obesity rates.
· Obesity among children is growing at an alarming rate.
· Obesity in children can lead to many health problems later in life.
· An overweight child will tend to have weight problems later in life.
· This problem is solvable with proper diet and exercise
Recommended Forms of Exercise:
Sports: Probably the number one way for children to stay in shape. Sports add greatly to a child’s development, mentally and physically, as well as socially. However, just as a professional athlete augments their sports training through specific conditioning programs, so can a child.
Cardiovascular training:
Although very high volume training may not be the best for young children (Marathon
training, etc.), moderate amounts of any type of aerobic activity are very healthy
for children of all ages.
Resistance Training:
Myth - Children shouldn’t lift weights because it will stunt their growth.
Fact – There is no evidence to support this “old-wives-tale”. In fact several
studies have completely disproven it. A child’s bones and joints are stressed
more jumping around on the playground than they ever are in the gym.
Myth – Children won’t really benefit
from weight lifting until they reach puberty.
Fact – Children can quickly make neuromuscular gains that will not only improve
physical strength but may also improve muscular coordination. Recent studies
are also showing that it may even be possible for children to put on healthy
amounts of lean muscle through resistance training. This will aid the child
not only in body composition, and sports performance, but also in injury prevention.
As with most other activities for children, none of this will have long-term success unless the child enjoys the activity. Parents and trainers should always strive to make the training fun. One way to accomplish this may be to train with a parent. You may be able to kill two birds with one stone this way, since not only will both of you be getting in shape, but you’ll also be able to spend some quality time together.
Almost all experts agree. The number one danger to children in the gym is lack of proper supervision. Properly supervised, the gym is a very safe environment for children. Left on their own, they will very easily find a way to hurt themselves. This also leads into proper training. Children should be educated in proper form for all exercises before they are allowed to lift heavier weights.
Just as children should probably
not be engaging in long distance repetitive endurance training, they should
also probably avoid extremely heavy lifting.
Sources:
Essentials of Strength Training & Conditioning
NSCA – Strength & Cond. Journal, Feb’03
Center of Disease Control web site
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics