Fitness Tips For Children
by Lisa Mason
Video games, snacking, TV and lacking fitness programs
at schools have contributed to obesity rates in children. What can
parents do to help?
Obesity rates in children continue to climb. The Presidents
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports reports 3 out of 4 school age
children have three or more risk factors for heart disease.
Video games, snacking, TV and lacking fitness programs at schools
due to shrinking budgets are all contributors to this sad trend. Sedentary
lifestyles of children can have the same adverse effects as on the
adult population: obesity, heart disease,hypertension, poor muscle
strength, tone and low self-esteem to only mention a few.
What are some things parents can do to prevent their children from
becoming obese?
For one, place high-fat, snack foods out of sight. Offer a variety
of healthy foods and few high-calorie snacks Some other tips to remember
when it comes to eating: do not eat while watching TV as studies suggest
people eat more since they are not really conscious of eating. Try
to chew your food more slowly, taking time to enjoy the flavor and
avoid late night snacking.
What about starting you child in a fitness program? A fitness program
for children should above all, be fun. Children have short attention
spans and require a great deal of excitement and program diversity
if they are to make fitness a life-style change. Prying children from
the TV can be difficult in the beginning, but certainly not impossible.
Let's look at two main components of fitness and see how we can meet
the needs of each one:
Cardiovascular: This is perhaps the most important
item on the list of fitness concerns. It is through cardiovascular
training that one burns those calories, reduces weight, and decreases
the risks of heart disease and high blood-pressure.
It also responsible for positive changes in stamina and endurance.
Cardiovascular activity is an activity that elevates your heart rate
above it's normal resting level and sustains it for a specific time.
For our purposes, we want the children to move at a brisk but comfortable
pace for at least 20 minutes, three times per week. The following
are some examples of cardiovascular activity that qualify:
- running
- walking
- skating
- bicycling
- hiking
- jumping rope
Strength Training: Muscle strength and endurance
is the second point of fitness we want to consider in the child's
program.
These exercises should be done every other day, after cardiovascular
activity. The movements should be challenging but not difficult nor
straining. A child's body is very delicate and due to cartilage immaturity,
developing motor skills and other conditions, weight lifting should
be avoided until a good foundation of strength and biomechanics is
achieved.
Studies indicate that children do improve sports performance, flexibility
and overall strength with resistance training. When a program is eventually
implemented, the child should receive supervision from a qualified
instructor, conscious of their special needs.
There are other components to fitness also such as flexibility,
body composition, etc., but by addressing the main concerns, we will
positively effect all others. The points to remember are to keep fitness
simple, fun, lead by example and aim for consistency.
Kids who are physically active are much more likely to become active,
fit adults. They can live longer, healthier lives because exercise
can prevent or forestall heart disease, diabetes, obesity. Even some
forms of cancer can be prevented or forestalled by exercise and the
right diet.
Lisa Mason is a freelance writer residing in
Texas with her husband and two children. Her nonfiction article topics
have included parenting, health and fitness, conditions & diseases,
writing tips, military topics, and beauty/lifestyle. She is the webmaster
of Writers
Unite, a website for writers of all types.
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