The Importance Of Physical Activity

During childhood our body and mind changes very fast. I believe that nowadays parents focus more on the brain developement of their children than their physical activity. When I was a little girl - over 20 years ago - we spent most of our time outside playing, running and enjoying fresh air and being in movement. Physical activity of children can secure them health and well being in their adulthood as well as teach them a lot of very importants aspects like social relations and behaviors in different situations.

Physical activity also has benefits for children's social and emotional development and cognitive development. These benefits include being part of a team and making friends through group sports, which have a major impact on social and emotional development. The effect of obesity on children is closely linked to many bad health habits such as diet, smoking and drug use which in turn can affect a child's academic performance (Goran et al., 1999). Physical activity, if encouraged at a young age, can reduce the likelihood of children developing these behaviours and focus on their academic performance and cognitive development. As children in this age range are in their fundamental development stage, it is important that educators and parents alike, teach children about the importance of physical activity at a young age in order to prevent health and social well-being problems in their adult years.

Exercise is healthy for students. If kids do not have recess then they would not get their daily exercise. Teens between the ages of 14-18 should have at least 60 minutes a day of physical activity. When pre-teens start middle school there is no more recess (for the rest of their school life). With many students obtaining many hours of homework a night, how can it be expected that they to get 60 minutes each day of running, biking, swimming or walking? For example, if someone does not have any other activities that day, where are they going to get their exercise from? Many children suffer from obesity, but even children at healthy weight levels benefit from physical activity. “For sure, in light of America's childhood-obesity problem (17 percent of kids between 2 and 19 are obese), participating in recess is one of the few inexpensive, readily available opportunities we have to get kids moving” ( Millner). The outdoors is the best place for children to burn calories, practice physical skills and play. Research has even shown that children who are physically active in school are more likely to be physically active at home,

Think of it, kids only go to Physical Education or “gym” class every other day of the week. So that is about two or three times a week. Gym class only lasts about an hour of the day, and for some students, this is the only physical exercise that they have. When kids come home from school, they usually just sit down on the couch and watch TV until dinner time, study, and then play video games late at night, and then go to bed. The way we can get kids to develop a habit of more physical exercise is having gym class every day instead of just two to three. Also, instead of kids playing games that involve little to no activity, Schools should have kids focus on things like getting your body moving like running, yoga or sports games like baseball, football or volleyball. Things like this that kids can look forward to doing everyday may potentially lead to a child more encouraged to play with a ball afterschool and find a new hobby instead of sitting at home on the

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) note that when children participate in the recommended level of physical activity of at least 60 minutes per day multiple health benefits ensue. Nevertheless, since the creation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) increasing focus has been dedicated to bridging the achievement gap among students and less emphasis has been placed on non-academic curriculum such as physical education. Research has shown that approximately 3.8% of elementary schools provide formal physical education with this percentage steadily declining as children continue onto middle and high school. This decrease in physical activity is in line with reports from the CDC which estimate that one third of children in the United States are overweight and, within those cases, the CDC has documented that children who are overweight have higher absentee rates, have poorer health and experience early signs of mental illness all of which have an impact on academic performance.

Research has found that when kids get enough exercise, their learning skills, attitude and behavior at school improve. The same is true when they have access to healthy food choices. By helping kids be more physically active and eat well, we help them succeed academically, better preparing them for lifelong success.

S. Surgeon General has declared childhood obesity to be an “epidemic” with significant adverse health consequences, including vascular disease and Type 2 diabetes that significantly raise health care costs for youth.” (The Impact of Physical Education 3) “The U.S. Surgeon General attributes the rise in childhood obesity, in part to, school cutbacks in Physical Education (PE), and urges all school systems to mandate daily PE that last at least one hundred and fifty minutes per week for elementary schoolchildren.” (The Impact of Physical Education 3) Research shows exercise aids children in maintaining a healthy body weight, strong and healthy muscles, strong bones and joints, improves sleep, school attendance is improved, self-esteem is better, and they are less likely to develop anxiety and depression. Those are just a few benefits of physical activity. Schools require subjects such as Math, Science, English, and Social Studies in order for children to graduate. Therefore, physical education should be a required course. Not only will adding physical education requirements help children physically but also, studies show that exercise helps with brain stimulation, which will help with test score and understanding in the classroom. Physical education will not only help with obesity but also improve some other problems schools deal with because of obese

First, physical activity in school would help students to improve their rate of academic learning. Children who are physically active would perform, retain, absorb and pay attention better at school and home, than students who are out of shape. ‘A study, conducted by Bryan Mc Cullick, a kinesiology professor at the University of Georgia, examined all 50 of the United States and found six states where elementary schools followed recommended physical education at the middle school level, and no states had strong enough regulations at the high school level.” This

Today's people are not moving enough because technology becomes more common in the world which helps to live easier. We burn off calories less than the past. Moreover, the more we are busy, the less we burn off calories. It means that we are just tired, so we should understand the importance of our health by doing

In 2008, 30.2% of youth ages 6 to 12 were active to a healthy level through sports(“Facts”). This shows that some kids are getting the minimum amount of physical activity. To raise this level, all kids should include sports in their daily life. All kids should be engaged in sports. Regular activity is required for good health and high school athletes are more likely to attend college.

Physical fitness is to the human body a general state of health and well-being, and more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports or occupations. Being fit doesn’t mean being a champion in a particular discipline, or having muscles that pop out from clothes… being fit means living healthy and accordingly being a happy person. Physical fitness is generally achieved through a correct nutrition and a regular training activity. The benefits for being fit are countless, not only the training and the healthy diet will help you to achieve a good body, but it will also clean your mind and make you more happy and relaxed. Physical fitness, the ability to carry out tasks without undue fatigue, achieved by a correct nutrition and regular

First of all, physical activity is needed in order to live healthy lives. According to Video 1, recess is a way to expend energy in a suitable manner. When you are physically active at school, you are more likely to be more physically active at home. Also, overweight, obese, or suffering children need to be physically active to have good health. Advances in brain research have

When it comes to having good exercise habits, meaning everyday for thirty minutes it helps to prevent obesity and other serious illnesses like heart disease, cancer and diabetes (American Heart Association). When is comes to a healthier lifestyle the Physical Education class can help students burn calories, exercise muscles, reduce stress levels, and improve psychological and physical health. After the children have grown up with the idea of working out and eating healthy food there is 30% chance to be healthy and not obese, but if people don’t end up exercising for the sixty minutes daily as a child and are obese there is a 70% chance that you are going to be obese as an adult (Centers for diseases control and prevention). We need to step in and help our schools understand that physical education is a great opportunity for the schoolchildren, to live a healthy live. Researchers have stated that Physical Education in classrooms help students learn the value of taking care of themselves thru proper grooming, healthy eating, and regular exercise. Not only does it help with staying healthy it helps promote academic learning, with the regular exercise it produces a longer attention span during classes allowing a longer concentration and adsorption. (7 Reasons why Physical Education is Important in Schools) When it comes to benefiting from a healthy

Another unfortunate hindrance to physical activity in schools is the notion that physical activity takes away from time that could be used for academic studies. This is unjustified however, because children of this age group are unable to sit and concentrate for long periods of time without being able to get up and move (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).

The controversial topic in the realm of physical education is if physical education should remain in schools. Higher up’s are complaining about test scores and suggesting that cutting physical education programs would lead to better test scores. Technically, this would lead to more time spent sitting in a desk and listening to lectures in class, which is supposed to improve test scores. So, the solution to increase test scores is to take the small chance of physical activity that children receive during the school day and keep them almost completely sedentary for six-plus hours. When physical activity is restricted during school hours, children do not regain the lost physical activity after school, resulting in children who remain