As a parent, one of the most important decisions you can make is enrolling your children in extracurricular activities. When it comes to participating in sports, many parents agree that there are a plethora of benefits for children. Not only is playing sports fun and a great way to make new friends, but physical activity has become increasingly important as technology continues advancing and more kids spend time inside glued to the computer or television. From increasing discipline and focus to building your child’s self-confidence and self esteem, learning how to be part of a team, and teaching valuable lessons about handwork and setting goals that can come in handy later in life when planning a move with Black Tie Moving, there are countless reasons why your child should play sports—and here are just three!
As a parent, it is important to encourage your children to stay active. Playing sports is an easy, fun way to get your child involved in physical activity which can help reduce the risk of developing diseases later in life. Research has found that physical activity releases endorphins, which can improve mood and mental health as well, making sports a great way to boost your child’s overall wellbeing.
2. Learning Discipline and Focus
Through sports, children learn the importance of discipline and focus, which can help them in many aspects of life. Participating in organized sports also encourages kids to practice self-control and decision making as they learn to manage their time and energy. One of the best ways to teach your child lessons about the world around them is by encouraging them to play sports.
3. Building Self-Confidence
Participating in sports can help children build self-confidence and a positive self-image. As kids work to improve their skills, they feel proud of their achievements, which can boost their self-esteem and set the foundation for lasting success. If your child is in need of a confidence boost, enrolling them in sports is one of the best things you can do as a parent.
Playing sports can be beneficial to children in many ways, from increased physical activity and improved mental health to learning important life lessons and building self-confidence. Whether it’s football, basketball, or another popular sport, encourage your child to get involved in playing sports and watch as they grow in more ways than one!
A new study published in Lancet suggests that a lack of exercise is now causing as many deaths as smoking across the world.
The report, which is published in the Lancet to coincide with the build-up to the Olympics, estimates that about a third of adults are not doing enough physical activity, causing 5.3 million deaths a year.
That equates to about one in 10 deaths from diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and breast and colon cancer.
Researchers said the problem was now so bad it should be treated as a pandemic.
And they said tackling it required a new way of thinking, suggesting the public needed to be warned about the dangers of inactivity rather than just reminded of the benefits of it.
About a third of adults are not doing enough physical activity, causing 5.3 million deaths a year
The team of 33 researchers drawn from centres across the world also said governments needed to look at ways to make physical activity more convenient, affordable and safer.
It is recommended that adults do 150 minutes of moderate exercise , such as brisk walking, cycling or gardening, each week.
The Lancet study found people in higher income countries were the least active with those in the UK among the worst as nearly two thirds of adults were judged not to be doing enough.
Although the researchers admitted comparisons between countries were difficult because the way activity was estimated may have differed from place to place.
Nonetheless, they said they remained confident that their overall conclusion was valid.
Pedro Hallal, one of the lead researchers, said: “With the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games, sport and physical activity will attract tremendous worldwide attention.
“Although the world will be watching elite athletes from many countries compete in sporting events… most spectators will be quite inactive.
“The global challenge is clear – make physical activity a public health priority throughout the world to improve health and reduce the burden of disease.”
Prof. Lindsey Davies, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, agreed:
“We need to do all we can to make it easy for people to look after their health and get active as part of their daily lives.
“Our environment has a significant part to play. For example, people who feel unsafe in their local park will be less likely to use it.”
But others questioned equating smoking with inactivity.
While smoking and inactivity kill a similar number of people, smoking rates are much lower than the number of inactive people, making smoking more risky to the individual.
Dr. Claire Knight, of Cancer Research UK, said: “When it comes to preventing cancer, stopping smoking is by far the most important thing you can do.”
A new research suggests that combining exercise with conventional treatments for depression does not improve recovery.
In the NHS-funded study – published in the British Medical Journal – some patients were given help to boost their activity levels in addition to receiving therapy or anti-depressants.
After a year all 361 patients had fewer signs of depression, but there was no difference between the two groups.
Current guidelines suggest sufferers do up to three exercise sessions a week.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) drew up that advice in 2004.
At the time it said that on the basis of the research available, increased physical activity could help those with mild depression.
“This is a huge disappointment because we were hoping exercise would help lift depression. But we need to bear in mind that these were patients already on medication, so it considers exercise on top of medical care. It did not look at mild depression nor did it consider exercise as an alternative to medication.
“The message mustn’t be to stop exercising. Exercise has so many other benefits – it is good in terms of heart disease, lowers blood pressure, has a beneficial effect on the balance of fats in the blood, strengthens muscles, and burns up calories. A lot of people who have depression may have other problems too. And an active body helps to produce a healthy mind,” said Prof. Alan Maryon-Davis, professor of public health, King’s College London.
A new research suggests that combining exercise with conventional treatments for depression does not improve recovery
The latest study, carried out by teams from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, looked at how that might actually work in a real clinical setting.
All 361 people taking part were given conventional treatments appropriate to their level of depression.
But for eight months some in a randomly allocated group were also given advice on up to 13 separate occasions on how to increase their level of activity.
It was up to individual patients what activity they chose to increase and by how much.
This approach produced good results in terms of encouraging people to do more over a sustained period of time – something which could have benefits to their general physical health.
But at the end of a year, researchers found no additional reduction in the symptoms of depression in the more active group.
Prof. John Campbell, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, which also took part in the study, said: “Many patients suffering from depression would prefer not to have to take traditional anti-depressant medication, preferring instead to consider alternative non-drug based forms of therapy.
“Exercise and activity appeared to offer promise as one such treatment, but this carefully designed research study has shown that exercise does not appear to be effective in treating depression.”
But he added that GPs were often faced with patients with a number of health problems for whom encouraging an active lifestyle might be of overall benefit.
“The message of this study of course is not that exercise isn’t good for you, exercise is very good for you, but it’s not good for treating people with what was actually quite severe depression.
“That buzz we all get from moderate intensity of exercise is certainly acknowleged but it’s not sustained and it’s not appropriate for treating people with depression.”
At present, the NHS can refer patients for a course of supervised exercise sessions as part of treatment for a number of illnesses, including depression.
These findings are therefore likely to be taken into account when NICE next reviews its guidelines.
The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, a British government-backed programme.
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