There are so many beneficial reasons why kids should play competitive sports. Not only do they get exercise, develop physical skills and make friends, they reap some serious health benefits. Below we’ve listed 10 reasons why it’s so important that kids play competitive sports.
1. Improves insulin sensitivity
The general health of the majority of the population is that their sensitivity to insulin is normal. This means normal or low levels of insulin are utilised to process glucose. Abnormal insulin sensitivity is correlated with excess body fat. The great news is that aerobic exercise improves insulin sensitivity in overweight children.1
2. Reduces cardiovascular risk factors
Cardiovascular disease is a term for diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. Exercise can reduce the risk factors of heart disease. Studies have shown that damage in the blood vessels can begin in adolescence, making it vital for children to exercise as an early prevention method.2
3. Improves self esteem
A child’s self-esteem reflects their opinion of their own self worth. Playing sports can improve a child’s self esteem and subsequently their capacity to be happy within themselves is increased.3
4. Prevents childhood obesity
In the US, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years despite this being a preventable disease. In the majority of cases obesity is the result of a “caloric imbalance”— too few calories expended (e.g. little physical activity or exercise) for the amount of calories consumed.4
5. Active children become active adults
The behaviour patterns of a person for physical activity are established very early in their life. Mounting evidence shows that active children are more likely to continue being active when they are adults.5
6. Improves kids’ blood
Studies in young athletes have shown a positive link between aerobic fitness and changes in blood lipid profiles. This positive link results in a protective value against cardiovascular diseases.6
7. Fit kids = better brain development
Researchers have found a link between physical fitness and the brain in children aged 9 and 10. They found the children that were fit had a bigger hippocampus, a major component of the brain. In addition, fitter kids performed better on a test of memory than the children that were less fit.7
8. Kids learn to play fair
With the structure and support of coaches, parents and team officials, children soon learn how to play fair, how to treat others and how best to behave during a sporting event.
9. Social benefits
Getting involved in competitive team sport is beneficial in promoting socialisation skills and in helping children learn how to function in a team environment.8
10. Reduced blood pressure in children
Studies show that physical activity performed by children and adolescents can lower their blood pressure. This lowering effect is seen particularly in those who have elevated blood pressure.9
So should kids play competitive sport? With the ten benefits outlined above the answer is a resounding yes! Get your kids involved in competitive sport so they can enjoy the positive effects on their health and happiness every day.
Sources
- The Medical Journal of Australia: Sport for special groups.
- BMJ: Effect of school based physical activity programme (KISS) on fitness and adiposity in primary schoolchildren.
- American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Children And Sports.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Childhood Obesity Facts.
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners: Physical activity.
- The Medical Journal of Australia: Sport for special groups.
- News Bureau Illinois interview with University of Illinois psychology professor and Beckman Institute director Art Kramer.
- The Medical Journal of Australia: Sport for special groups.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The Effects of Physical Activity on Health and Disease.