Increased fitness for children - Research Paper Example

? Increased fitness for children Increased fitness for children Physical and mental fitness are much needed health conditions not only for the children but also for the adults to perform better in their day to day activities. The success and failures of a person depends on his physical and mental fitness. Mahatma Gandhi once said that a sound mind may exist only in a sound body. It should be noted that mind controls all the humanly activities and hence healthy mind is as important as a healthy body. Both mind and the body complement each other and help a person to achieve his goals in life. Researchers have found an association between physical fitness and the brain in 9- and 10-year-old children: Those who are more fit tend to have a bigger hippocampus and perform better on a test of memory than their less-fit peers. The new study, which used magnetic resonance imaging to measure the relative size of specific structures in the brains of 49 child subjects, appears in the journal Brain Research (Children's Brain Development Is Linked to Physical Fitness, Research Finds, 2010) Doctors and healthcare professionals often stress the importance of nutritious food and exercises during childhood for the proper development of body and mind. Some parents have the habit of feeding nutritious food to their children and neglect the importance of physical exercises of their children. Such parents do believe that nutritious food is the only requirement for the physical development of their children. This is totally a wrong concept. Nutritious food without physical workout sessions may cause obesity among children which may affect their mental development. Plenty of studies have proved that obesity is one of the major reasons for lack of self esteem among children. Needless to say those obese children may face social isolation, bullying and harassment from peers because of their inability to move just like normal children. One or two hour or at least 30 minute exercise in children each day will improve their learning capabilities and overall health. The purpose of this paper is to prove how more physical activity and better nutrition in the schools can decrease the obesity rate. If children are taught early, how to maintain good health they are more likely to carry good habits throughout their lives. Having better nutrition and more physical activity can also help improve a student’s grades. Relation between obesity, fitness and academic achievements among children Though people typically think of young children as naturally getting lots of physical exercise, recent studies suggest this may not be the case. Poor nutrition and lack of exercise are jeopardizing the young children's abilities to do well in school and to stay in good health (Murphey et al., 2011, p.9). Many parents have the illusion that their children are getting enough opportunities both at home and in schools for maintaining a sound physical health. This was true in the case of children around two three decades before when technology and advanced living standards were less. Many children in the past used bicycles to reach their schools; however current children are using either school buses or own vehicles for reaching their schools. In other words, natural opportunities for getting proper workouts are getting diminished as time goes on. Children in the past were eager to play with their friends. They were interested in playing some games in the company of their friends. However, modern children are spending majority of their leisure time in front of computers, internet, mobile phones and television sets. Moreover, while spending time in front of these modern equipment, children are taking foods also. In other words, one way they are reducing their time for physical workouts and in the other way they are taking foods more than what they actually require maintaining their physical health. Thus, obesity like health problems are started to evolve even during childhood. According to the 2011 statistics published by National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES), “About one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese” (U.S. Obesity Trends, 2011). Obesity is a stigmatized condition, with numerous reports documenting social exclusion, occupational and educational discrimination, and widespread expression of negative attitudes. Children and adults have been shown to stereotype the obese as lazy, weak-willed, lacking in self-confidence and emotionally disturbed, among many other negative characteristics (Wardle et al, 2006, p.634) Many of the children in elementary schools in America are obese. Some statistics show that around 25% of the elementary schools children in America are obese. Obesity is not only a personal or individual problem, but also a social problem. It should be noted that obesity prevents children from socializing properly with their peers. Moreover peers may bully or harass obese children so that conflicts and aggressive behaviors arise between obese children and other children. Depression is a major health problem associated with childhood obesity. It leads towards social exclusion, occupational and educational discrimination, and widespread expression of negative attitudes. A healthy mind may reside only in a healthy body. It is difficult for obese children to have a healthy body and a healthy mind. They may always curse their destiny of being obese. They may not have the maturity to realize the real problem which is causing overweight. Their parents may not point out the reasons of their obesity. Many parents wanted to see their children healthy. Obesity is often been misunderstood by them as the symbol of health. So they may not force their children for physical workouts or for practicing healthy diet. Drill periods were part of curriculum in the past. However, such periods for physical workouts are getting disappeared from curriculum activities. Schools are giving more importance to academic subjects and extracurricular activities are disappearing from schools. In short many of the obese children are not getting enough guidance either from their parents or from schools about how to reduce their overweight. There are many arguments about the causes of depression among children. Some people believe that depression causes obesity whereas others are of the view that obesity causes depression. In any case, one thing is sure; plenty of depressed children have the habit of overeating. In fact overeating is a defensive mechanism developed by our body to escape from a depression mood. However, overeating may intensify the obesity problem further among children. In short, obesity, depression and lack of exercises are closely related. According to a study by Strauss (2000) among 1520 children - 9 to 10 years of age- to learn more about the effect of obesity on children’s self-esteem development, “obese children were found to be with decreasing levels of self-esteem demonstrate significantly higher rates of sadness, loneliness, and nervousness and are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors such as smoking or consuming alcohol” (Strauss, 2000). These results clearly suggest that it is difficult for an obese child to have a sound mind. His mind will always be disturbed and he cannot concentrate on his studies properly. Self-esteem is a much needed entity for becoming smart in studies. Students without self esteem may not excel in their studies. It should be noted that full concentration is required for proper learning both at schools and at home. However, obese children cannot concentrate fully on their studies because of their concerns about overweight. In short, lack of physical workouts result in obesity, obesity may cause lack of self-esteem and lack of self-esteem may cause underachievement in studies. In other words, physical workouts, obesity, self-esteem and academic performances are interrelated. Karnik & Kanekar (2012) pointed out that “Lack of playtime, little or no physical education at schools, videogames and excessive TV viewing time are proposed as the major cause of the childhood obesity epidemic” (Karnik & Kanekar,2012, p.4). Many children have the habit of eating while watching television programs. Moreover, many parents have the habit of serving meals to their children while they are watching television programs. Such habits often result in excessive calorie intakes by children. In other words, children eat more unknowingly while they watch television programs. At the same time, they are getting less time for exercises. These two factors are complementing each other in the development of obesity. According to Pretlow (2010), childhood obesity is caused by the imbalance between the calorie intake and calorie utilized (Pretlow, 2010, p.1). Recent research at the elementary level indicates that obese kindergartners tend to score significantly lower on math and reading tests than do normal-weight children. Lower scores were also found among girls who became overweight between kindergarten and third grade. In addition, there is evidence that the effects of obesity on school performance are worse for children who remain obese for many years (Childhood Obesity and Academic Outcomes, 2008). It is generally accepted that fitness is the much needed entity for the children to concentrate properly on their studies. There are no shortcuts for becoming fit. Fitness can be developed only through exercises. Joseph, (2001) mentioned that “physically oriented exercises and techniques which help promote child's physical health and prevent child stress” (Joseph, 2001, p.157). Many children have the habit of developing tensions and stresses about their studies. Studies have shown that all kinds of stresses can be managed properly with the help of physical workouts. It should be noted that stresses are developed because of improper brain activities. Brain requires oxygen for its proper functioning and this oxygen is supplied to it through blood circulation. Proper blood circulation can be obtained through proper physical workouts. For example, while a child runs or plays, his heart may work more and his brain may get more blood and oxygen. Thus he may think positively all the time because of regular physical workouts. “Researchers believe that exercise increases blood flow to the brain, fueling critical thinking processes such as memory, attention, and creativity” (Park, 2012, p.19). “Physical fitness improves brain functioning in children. Moreover, it improves cardiovascular fitness and academic achievement”(Rethinking brain and brawn, 2012, p.8). Many people have the illusion that cardiovascular problems may arises only during adulthood. However, modern studies have proved that these problems may arise even during childhood because of obesity. In other words, fitness and exercise are important to all people irrespective their age. According to Burlingame (2007), “children can attain two-thirds of their recommended daily dose of exercise in only a half-an-hour of playground time. It is a unique way to keep kids trim and to focus on weight loss while emphasizing fun” (Burlingame, 2007, p.34). As in the cases of many other things, overdose of exercises may bring more harm than good. 30 to 60 minutes daily workouts are enough for a child to keep his body and mind fresh throughout the day and night. Chomitz and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from a racially diverse urban public school district with significant health and academic achievement surveillance systems. Fitness was assessed by physical fitness tests in five domains. Academic achievement was measured by Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests. Mathematics scores were assessed in 4th, 6th and 8th graders (n=1,117). English scores were assessed in 4th and 7th graders (n=753). Multiple regression models were fit to estimate the magnitude of the association between raw MCAS scores and fitness levels. Additionally, multivariable logistic regression analyses tested the association between fitness level and a passing score on the MCAS tests. Both the multiple linear and logistic regression models controlled for student's BMI-for-age percentile, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status. They reported in 2006 at the American Public Health Association that both English and Mathematics raw test scores were positively associated with the number of fitness tests passed (p-values Read More