Importance of Sports in American City - Essay Example

IMPORTANCE OF SPORTS IN AMERICA The sudden explosion of world population has given rise to modern cities which are designed to contain more people in a small space. As human being gradually developed from hunters and gatherers, they adopted a more settled life with majority of the people settling in the urban areas. In the United States and other developed countries, it is estimated that more than three quarters of the population reside in urban areas. This population is expected to rise as more and more peoples are moving from rural areas settle in urban areas. A city can be described as a metropolitan settlement. Cities usually accommodate many people from different background and working in different careers. In the city there is a mixture of different cultures and in the modern cities there appear to be an upcoming new city culture different from the culture of the people in the rural areas. The life in the cities is very different and unique in its own way from the life in the rural areas. One of the challenges facing the modern cities is poor planning which is often couple with less space for expansion and development of facilities for sports and other amenities. The lifestyle in the city is one which encourages a sedentary life. (Melvin, 1986) According to Mueller et al (2007), it has become a concern to many people that in the modern cities, although there is an improved health care and sanitary service, the mortality rate is still higher than expected and it has been concluded that all is not well with the city life. Many people in the rural areas, although having poor access to social basic needs like health care services, are living longer life than many people in the cities. This brings us to a great argument that have been debated the world over, concerning the city life and the future life in our cities. This illustrates that improved medical care and quality lifestyle is not the key to longer life span. It shows that there are other factors that are necessary for and individual to live longer. There are many factors like physical activity, diet, positive thinking and many others that raise the life expectation of individuals. The parameters used to gauge life expectation like improve access to basic health and others have bee defied by occurrences in the in many instances. One of the factors playing a big role in the life of an individual is the kind of life one adopts. One can either lead an active or a sedentary life. We have said that city life encourages sedentary life. The normal city life starts in the morning with a heavy breakfast and then a drive to the place of work. Many workers in the city are white collar job workers and hence they sit all day long with little expenditure of energy. At the end of the working hour, the usual routine is a few beers with friends and then a drive home to the family. This pattern illustrates an inactive life that many city residents undertake. An inactive life has many disadvantages and many dangers to the individual in his present and future life. It has been observed that, residents of cities like Hong Kong and other cities in Japan and China who are very much active and shuns sedentary life have a long life span compared to residents of the American cities. There have been reports that the health care cost of most companies in America cities have been on the rise at an alarming rate. It has been reported that the health care spending on employees for the America companies' rose by 6.1% in 2007 and the cost is expected to rise further in 2008. This has been contributed by inactive life by the inhabitants of the American cites. A recent survey shows that an average medical cost for an active adult per month has been averaging $302 as compared to $228 for adult with an active life style. The monthly payment for medication amounted to $45 for inactive adults compared to $27 for active adults. On health care insurance, monthly spending for inactive adult amounted to $401 as compared to $342 to active adults. The above aggregate shows that the monthly spending for inactive adults was 25% higher than spending for active adults. This is a clear evidence of the health benefits to be active. An active life plays an important role in maintaining the body shape and the immune response of the person. The other factor determining the life expectance of an individual is the individual diet. In our cities fresh farm produce is a dream. The city diet is mainly constituted of convenience diet. Many people in the city do not know what they are eating and are never conscious of their diet. The recipe of disaster in modern city life has the diet as one of its basic ingredients. It is evident that convenience foods are carbohydrate dense and their convenient nature makes them ready to eat and use. However the sedentary life of the town life discourages the burning of the energy contained in the energy dense foods. It is amazing that one pizza may give you all the energy you need for your day. But in normal day, a city residence might consume more that two pizzas and many other carbohydrate dense foods in between. (Melvin, 1986) What combined affect doe the above two have The above combination is a recipe for many lifestyle diseases. As the natural law dictates, the rate of input should be the same as the rate of output. But in normal city life the rate of consumption of energy is not equal to the rate of use of the same energy. Hence there is an energy balance that remains in the body. Excess energy leads to increased body weight which leads to overweight and obesity. Overweight is a condition in which an individual scores a high body mass index, which is a comparison of the individual's weight to height. Obesity is a higher score in the body mass index. The two conditions lead to development of many diseases which are the leading causes of death in these cities. Obesity leads to development of insulin resistance which further progress to diabetes. It is recorded that type II diabetes might soon become the leading killer disease in the cities. Already heart attack has created itself a space in the books of killer disease of the world. Heart attack results from excess consumption of cholesterol in combination with sedentary life style. The condition is triggered by high blood pressure which is a complication of overweight condition. Heart diseases are leading cause of death and claim a life in every hour in American cities. Associated to heart attack are conditions like stroke which can be described as an incomplete heart attack. It is also estimated that over 30% of elderly people above 65 years in the city have hypertension. What leads to an active life To live an active life, there must be some practice that ensures that one keeps the body fit and free from the above conditions. An active life means shunning sedentary life and actively involving in activities that leads to expenditure of energy in the body. Sports play an important role to keep the body fit and help one to live an active life. Many people do not realize the benefits of sports but it seems to be of prime importance to the city residents. It doesn't not mean that one has to be a sports person in life to live a healthy life, but dedicating sometime in you day to sports can be a sure way of keeping the body fit. As we said before, the law of science dictates that the rate of consumption of energy should be equal to the rate of use of that energy for a healthy life. But the life in the city has been contrary, as evidenced by the above description. Sports will play an important role in helping an individual burn the excess energy. We have reviewed the diets of the city residents and we have seen it as full of energy dense foods. We have also reviewed the dangers of excess energy balance in the body and the accompanying complications that arise from the condition of being overweight. It is good to stress that sports are very important in keeping healthy life. In cities with active population like in Hong Kong city, it is usually a family affair in the morning to take jogging exercise and other forms of sports which helps to keep their bodies healthy. On the contrary, in the American cities residents are not so keen involved in the sport and are so much absorbed in their work that they forget their bodies. (Melvin, 1986) According to Melvin Adelman (1968), sports help to burn the excess calorie in the body. As we have said one needs not be an active sports person to keep health. It has been proved that a dedication to sports activity for not less that 30 minutes for three times a week is very important in maintaining the body. This helps to burn the body calories and also helps to stretch body muscle to keep a good body. Apart from burning the calories, involvement in sports also helps to keep one off stress. City life is very hectic and individual always have a tight schedule to meet. There is a lot of pressure with the city life and now and then individuals are more stressed than people living in other areas. It has been proved that the life in the city is more stressing than life in rural or other metropolitan areas of the world. Sports are an important tool in helping to fight this stress. It helps to maintain a constant flow of blood in all the body parts which relieves painful symptom. It maintains a constant flow of blood to the brains which ensure enough supply of oxygen in the brains for efficient thinking. With the view of the above it can be said that sports is an important tool in maintaining a healthy brain. The role of sports in maintaining a healthy body is large than we can explore here. This is the reason why many companies in the American cities have initiated sports programs which they support with their funds. Companies have been paying huge medical insurance bills to offset their employees medical bill and they have realized that prevention is better that cure. It is after analyzing the lifestyle of American city residents, that they realized that access to improved medical service and even the use of effective drugs does not lead to a healthy life. They had to go back and evaluate the lifestyle of the people, and their dieting and lifestyle said a lot about the occurrence of lifestyle diseases. It is worth noting that the fight with the lifestyle disease is far from over and there is need for consulted efforts not only from the health departments but also from other corporate bodies. The fight against lifestyle disease does not only rest with educating the public about healthy eating and leading of an active life but I think it is much to do with promotion of sports and encouraging other activities that leads to an active lifestyle. According to Charles Euchner (1994), there are many sports that can be encouraged in American cites. There are currently some sports that are very popular with the people. One of the most popular sports in the American city is American football. This is referred as rugby in other quarters of the world. It is a highly charged sport but very dangerous due to the nature of the game. It s very popular with boys and is encouraged in all schools. Henry Fetter (2005), stress that another sport that is very popular with the American is basket ball. This is perhaps seen as the national game since it is popular to all gender and to people of all ages. It is also a highly charged game wchich can lead to burning of excess calories and maintaining of a healthy body. Playing the above mentioned games for at least 3o minutes for three times a week can go along way in helping to maintain a healthy lifestyle. According to Steven Riess (1999), another game that is popular with American is swimming. This is popular since it can take place in individual houses and can be converted to a family game. Many families in the United States can afford to build a swimming pool in their residential areas. This is perhaps one of the important games that should be promoted in all citied due to its convenience. A swimming pool can be built in individual home and one can swim at any time of the day even after work. It is a highly charged game, very prestigious and very effective in burning the body calories and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Performing a few laps across the swimming pool is as good and has the same effect as playing a basket ball a match. Basket ball is another game that can be stationed at individual residential areas. It is good to note that many residential areas in America have basket ball courts and children are the one who mostly play the game. There is need for campaign to the adults also to take part in the game. Track events are also very popular in America cities and United States has dominated some track events in the world championship events for a very long time now. Track events are as effective as other games in maintaining the body fit. Perhaps one of the most famous track event in American is the short distance events and many people participate in the events. In some cites, It is usual to wake ups and see people in sporting gear running for track events. This is very important and encouraging to many city residents who mind about their health. (Melvin, 1986) There are several other sports in the American cities. Sports like cricket, golf, badminton, and others are also very important. It is worth noting that some of these events are indoor games and which are very important due to their convenience in participation. Some like table tennis, badminton and others can be played in individual home as family events. Apart from the medical benefits of health in sports, it is also worth noting that sports are also an important economic activity. Sportsmen and women are very rich and they earn a lot from participation in sports. In the American cities sports should not only be encourages as a tool to fight the rising cases of lifestyle diseases but also as an important economic activity. It is worth noting that due to the recent rise in population and the rate of unemployment growing higher ever day, it is good to diversify sources of income especially for the your population who are always disadvantages when it comes to employments. It is worth to note that each and every individual has a talent that they need to develop, to grow it, and earn from it. That is why it is very vital for all America cities to develop programs that encourage the youths to participate in sports. Technology is growing fast and is some areas it is reducing job opportunities instead of creating more opportunities. With this knowledge we need to be more open to the future and realize the potential of sport sector a viable employer of our young people. Sport sector has good return and can be an alternative especially for those who are not educationally qualified to take up jobs available but who has talents. American cities should diversify their capitalist interest and diversify areas of economic income especially for the youths. (Melvin, 1986) Sport activities are not only a source of income for the participants but it is also an important revenue income for the government. Recently it has become a bitter fight between countries in bids of host major events in the world. This is due to the economic benefits that come with the sports activity. Sports bring people together which is good for integration of different people from different parts of the world. In recent times there is the rise of tourist sporting which is becoming a leading source of income to many governments of the world. People travel from different parts of the world to come and watch or to participate in sports which are famous in the world. Hosting an international sport event does well not only to the economic image of the country but also to its social image. A country is recognized by the image it creates to the outside world. Sport activities market a country more effectively than any other activity. In view of the above, it is good for authorities in the American city to promote sport activities. One of the major hindrances to development of sports activities in cities is lack of space to establish sport activities. All cities in America should allocate funds to development of sports facilities in a bid to attack the participants who come to promote the sport. The recent signing of England football star, David Beckam by L.A. Galaxy is seen as a positive move that will promote football game in the Loss Angeles city and the rest of the united. All cities should strive to develop all the sports as an economic activity and as effective tool in maintaining the health of the population. (Melvin, 1986) It can be concluded that development of sports activity should be taken serious by all cities. The rise of sports tourism is an important event which is encouraging many countries in the world to develop their sports facilities in anticipation to the rising sport tourist. It is in light of this that American cities should also strive to achieve world standards in making America a sport destination. This will be a positive direction in marketing the country and creating more income generating activity for more American youths as well as maintaining a healthy population. Reference Charles, E. (1994). Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Henry, D. F. (2005). Taking on the Yankees. WW Norton & Company. Melvin, L. A. (1986). A sporting time. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Mueller, N., M. Manfred, P. Holger, D. Muchael, and B. Marc (2007): Salt Lake City 2002: Importance of the cultural program during the XIX. Olympic Winter Games-from the spectator's perspective. The Sport Journal 5(7): 56-67 Steven, A. R. (1999). Touching Base. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Read More