Physical Fitness

 Physical Fitness

We as parents, teachers and family members we are trying to keep our children healthy by providing them with healthy meals and physical fitness every day. This can be a struggle since there are many different obstacles in our way such as social media, playing video games, and not having enough income to provide for our children.  Children are developing skills from birth to adult. 

Children who are not getting participating in physical activities or exercise are mostly unhealthy and starting or already obese. Most children need at least an hour of physical fitness every day. (Robertson C. pg.272) Children are developing many different skills such as catching a ball, running, and riding a bike. Each of these skills is part of having physical fitness in their day to day life. For developing skills to catch a ball each child is learning how to use their arms and hands together to focus and catch a ball which is known as eye hand coordination. For a child are having to use their legs to pedal a bike and to run. Children are learning how to stay balanced to sit and use their legs to pedal and to learn how to run fast. This is a developmental skill that is learned as a toddler to preschooler. Helping a child with gross motor with help them develop the skill to do these activities.   Also when a child is able to play and run off extra energy by using physical fitness they are able to concentrate better when learning other skills such as fine motor skills in the classroom.

When a child is obese they are not healthy. In some case a child may have cardiovascular disease, pediatric hypertension, diabetes or even cancer. (Robertson C. pg.268) These diseases tend to stop these children from having exercise and physical fitness every day. Having these problems at a young age seems to stop a child from wanting to do anything that will make them get up and move. Their little bodies cannot fight off most basic infections that every child gets. (Robertson C. pg. 268) Even if a child is sick they should try and get exercise every day to help them become healthy and keep their illnesses low.

Adults can exercise and do physical fitness with children to show them that even adults need to have exercise to stay healthy. When an adult plays and works along with children they are more willing to do physical activities if they see adults do it as well. We as adults need to demonstrate how to have fun while doing exercise to help our children stay healthy and in good shape.  An activity for a child to do for gross motor would be playing a game like tag where each child will chase after another child to tag them and make that child it. This game can go on for as long as they like. (Robertson C. pg. 275) Another activity for a child to do with fine motor skills is to stack things such as blocks or cups.  (Robertson C. pg.406) If you are trying to have a child do fine motor skills while doing exercise you could make an obstacle course and have one item by stacking rocks or other items to help with their fine motor development. Here is a quote that inspires me and shows how I feel. “Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.”[EE3]  (http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Childrens_Health/

References:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning

Facts Sheet /Obesity

      Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.

      The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.

      In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.

      Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. (http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm)

Immediate health effects:

      Higher risks for cardiovascular disease, high blood presser and high cholesterol

      Obese young adults are more likely to have prediabetes

      Young children and young adults who are obese are likely to have bone and joint problems, social and emotional problems.

Long Term effects:

      If  a person is obese as a child they are most likely obese as adults

      Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis

      Cancers that are mostly likely associated with obesity are breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, prostate, myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Childhood obesity it totally preventable helping our children eat healthy and have plenty of physical activities and exercise will help your child stay healthy and happy!

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