Physical fitness in schools

In recent years, a solid link has been made between chronic disease, increased mortality, and injury and a sedentary lifestyle. One way to address this is to ensure that a proper regime of physical activity and fitness is encouraged amongst children of school-going age. Schools hold an influential position when it comes to ensuring that kids are getting enough activity.

A primary goal with regard to youth and children is to promote physically active lifestyles that will be carried into adulthood. This should help with regard to the reduction of problems related to inactivity.

Physical activity

Regular activity during childhood can lead to lower levels of body fat, increased bone mineral mass, and lower levels of tobacco and alcohol use or abuse. Exercise is also vital with regard to the avoidance of problems such as hypertension, obesity, and plenty of other chronic diseases. Many programs have been introduced in schools that deal with addressing these problems.

A physically active lifestyle is vital when it comes to the proper maintenance of children's health. Some ways that kids can look to get enough exercise includes the participation in certain competitive or team sports. This is often the best way for kids to get exercise. If a child is regularly taking part in any kind of sport, then it is more likely that a child will show an interest in maintaining a healthier, more physically active lifestyle as the years go by.

Exercise in Schools

Some recommendations have been made with regard to children and exercise in schools. Educating bodies should be encouraged to establish policies that promote lifelong physical exercise regimes. This should include comprehensive health education for children of kindergarten age to the age of twelve. Schools should also be encouraged to commit resources, funding, personnel, equipment, and facilities to these programs. It might also be advised for schools to provide physical education specialists and appropriately trained teachers in order to perform physical education classes.

Schools should also try to provide environments that courage physical activity, including the provision of supervision. It is also advised that schools provide physical and health education curricula, as well as providing extracurricular physical activity programs that seek to provide for all kinds of different students. Parents and guardians should also be included in these acitivities as much as possible. Education should also be provided to teachers, coaches, and school administration, in order to further build up the capacities of a particular school with regard to physical education.