Raising Active Kids - The Physical Benefits!
When we talk about exercise for children, we’re not talking about 10k runs, strength and conditioning sessions or that evening pilates class that we might take on as adults. For kids, exercise means something different. It’s about active play and adventure, activities that strengthens their growing bones and muscles, lowers their chance of getting health problems later on in life, and wards off obesity - and those are just some of the physical benefits. Exercise and physical activity for kids could look like anything from competitive sports and cross country running to climbing, playing on playground equipment and gymnastics.
In 2019, the World Health Organisation said that ‘active adolescents are likely to become active adults’. With the opposite also being true - sedentary children go on to be sedentary adults. With both short and long term benefits of physical activity that positively impacts a child’s development as well as their health later in life, the groundwork for a positive and proactive attitude to exercise should begin early.
What are the Physical Benefits of Exercise for Kids?
Strong Muscles and Bones
Weight bearing activities, such as running, jumping, gymnastics and climbing, all use muscle force to place pressure on the bones beneath, which strengthens them over time. In fact, we build the vast majority of our bone density in both our childhood and our teenage years, so a good, strong foundation helps breakages occur less easily, and if and when they do, helps them to heal quickly.
Less Risk of becoming Overweight
Childhood obesity is widely considered to be one of the biggest public health concerns that we face in modern Britain. Not only can obesity negatively affect a child’s mental health, it can also increase the risk of developing serious health conditions both during childhood and in later life. These include heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes and some cancers. Physical activity can increase metabolic rate, increase lean body mass and expend energy from food, reducing the likelihood of a child becoming obese.
Good Cardiovascular Fitness
A healthy heart and circulatory system set up a child up to ward off heart disease as much as possible in later life. Whilst this is also partly achieved through diet, some good heart-pumping physical activity is essential to it too. This could be running, riding a bike, swimming or hiking.
Lowers Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
High cholesterol, found in fatty foods and exacerbated by a failure to exercise, can clog arteries and ultimately result in heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure in children can continue into adulthood, again raising the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Whilst diet has a lot to do with these factors, exercise is an instrumental part in keeping them low too.
Better Sleep
A child’s healthy development depends on good quality sleep; it’s when their brain and body do so much of their growing. There is lots of evidence to suggest that there is a positive correlation between children’s physical activity and the quality of their sleep - and after all that running around, they’ll need the shuteye too!
Better Posture
Poor posture can put strain on parts of the body that will begin to complain later in life, the back being the main one of them. Therefore, a good posture is something that’s best encouraged early on. Strong muscles in the upper back, chest and core are all important to a good posture, which is something that exercise and physical activity can certainly help with.
Kids Classes at Primal!
Here at Primal we have classes for children from the ages of 1 up to teenagers! From Primal Pre-School to Teen Tumble we believe in encouraging the future generations to remain active through adolescence to adulthood.