Social Benefits Of Physical Education Essay

Sports is not the only thing kids can do to exercise. Going on walks outside everyday is good exercise, or throwing a frisbee or ball outside for fun, or even playing tag and hide-and-go-seek. These examples all can be considered exercise. There are numerous of activities kids can do to exercise that don’t include playing a sport. Writer, Janis Merideth expressed how she felt on the issue of forcing kids to play sports. Merideth states “If your young child does not think playing sports is fun, then don’t force him or her to sign up for the team. If you are concerned about exercise, there’s other ways for that to happen”(Should) Getting exercise is very important but sports isn’t the only way for a child to do

Participation in sport and physical activity is commonly promoted for its positive impact on children’s mental and physical health, leaving its impact on cognitive advancement often overlooked. The reason for this is predominantly the increase of anxiety on schools and educators to ensure children accomplish academic achievement (Martin, 2010). In this literature review I will be looking at the impact physical activity and physical education has on the academic achievement and health of primary aged students. My research question is; what impact does physical activity and physical education have on the academic performance and health of primary aged students? Firstly I will discuss whether or not it impacts academic achievement, and later on I will examine the specific academic and health impacts. I will predominantly be examining and critically analysing six pieces of literature. This literature review reports on research undertaken by Dottie Gonzalesz (2009), Eero Haapala (2012), Jennifer Etnier (2003), Dr Karen Martin (2010), Stead & Nevill (2010), and Phillip D Tomporowski, Catherine L. Davis, Patricia H. & Jack A. Naglieri
(2008).

Sport is incredible in how it can increase confidence, self-esteem, and overall health while teaching children a new ability of working with others as a team, taking direction, and doing things they never thought possible. I want to be able to show what sports is capable of teaching and the rewards that come along with it. The concept of team reveals what is achievable through solidarity that would be impossible in solitary.

This will impact on a child or young person’s intellectual development as they will be more alert and ready to learn, physical activity is also likely to encourage social and emotional development as schools will provide sports clubs and after school activities, giving children and young people the opportunity to socialise and progress in self-esteem.

Physical activity is an integral part of health and well being in children.Our bodies also require physical activity in order to be healthy.Understanding and supporting physical activity, will help children have the right foundation for a healthy and happy life.Positive experiences with physical activity at a young age promotes the growth if strong bones and muscles, help to develop good posture and balance, obesity risk and chronic disease risk infection are reduced.

One thing almost every young child looks forward to is the activity of play. Kids love nothing more than to go outside, run around with friends, and get dirty. If children are already active at a young age, why not encourage them to continue by enrolling them in an organized youth sport program? Young people will gain many positive experiences by participating in organized physical activities, but none as important and influential as the social skills, physical skills, and mental skills developed and nurtured during their time in youth sport. As a result, the young participants can continue to build upon and cultivate these skills which will ultimately be transferred into their development as successful adults. Along with the social and

Participation in youth sports in the United States is on the rise. “Organized youth sports are highly popular for youth and their families, with approximately 45 million children and adolescent participants in the US” (Merkel, 2013). There are many benefits for children that can be attributed to sports such as: physical activity, learning motor skills, sense of belonging, stress relief, and many more. With childhood obesity on the rise recreational sports has never been needed more than it is today. “Over the past three decades, the incidence of obesity in children has tripled, with one of every three children being affected” (Merkel, 2013). Obesity has many long-term health problems related to it such as: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure cancer, asthma. We can attribute this health problem to changes in our society over like increased technology, increased crime rates, fast food and isolated suburban neighborhoods. Sports and other physical activities are needed to keep children from causing further damaged to their future.

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.

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

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Increasing physical activity among youth is an essential component of the broad strategy needed to curb the obesity epidemic” (CITATION). The AAP goes on to encourage different forms of physical activity, whether it’s joining a sport, taking part in extracurricular activities or even participating in gym class and to start this routine from childhood. When experimenting to see the impact that sports and extracurriculars made on a person’s health, they stated, “Our findings supports previous research demonstrating sports were related to substantially lower risk of both overweight/obesity and obesity” (CITATION). While other factors play a big part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, childhood is a crucial point because that’s when the body is nurturing, which is why there should be more budgeting towards helping those who are unable to

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 activity is essential for children; therefore sport participation has many physical benefits for youths (Willox, 1994). In the United States there is a very unhealthy trend of physically unfit children going on. According to a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health seven out of ten kids in our nation are out of shape and the incidence of obesity has increased by more than 50 percent among America's children and teen since 1976 and continues to grow at a staggering rate (Metzel & Shookhoff, 2006). When children participate in sports activities they get some of the exercise they need to improve their quality of life and can help prevent children from becoming obese. Physical activity regulates obesity because it increases energy expenditure, suppresses appetite, increases metabolic rate, and increases lean body mass (Willox, 1994). Even though regular physical sport activity has been shown to improve physical fitness, it can also help in preventing many different health problems down the line that youths who participate in sports are more likely not to develop than youths who do not participate in sports. Women who participated in organized sport and fitness programs as

Children’s health is something that is very important and people need to become more familiar with how to get their youth healthy and how to keep them healthy. Children need physical activity on a daily basis to stay mentally and physically fit. There are nine primary studies done between sedentary behavior and mental health. Having a high level of sedentary behavior negatively impacts your health. Physical activity has potentially beneficial effects for reduced depression, although evidence is limited (Biddle, S. J. H., and M. Asare). Exercise teaches your body how to respond to stressful situations due to the fact that the body undergoes a strain when you exercise. Physical activity gives a better sense of self. It helps people be healthier and stay healthier throughout their lives. Being physically fit pertains to everyone. To be able to live longer and stay healthier everyone needs to have some sort of physical activity on a daily basis. Children who get more physical activity on a daily basis are healthier not only physically but mentally as well.

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).

In today’s society children are increasingly becoming less active. Lack of physical activity in childhood leads to obesity, can increase one’s risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis, and poor health status. Physical inactivity also increases one’s risk for dying prematurely, dying of heart disease, and colon cancer. Technology and video games have become a major factor in this and have seemed to take over and control lives of many children. Less children are involved with sports and few play outside. The lack of physical activity as a child, can pay huge dividends in the child’s health, into his/her adulthood.