How Good Nutrition & Exercise Help Children’s Physical Development

Overview

Establishing patterns of healthy eating and exercise through both structured programs and recreational activities builds the foundation for a healthy and disease-free life for the generations of tomorrow. An estimated 1 in 3 children are overweight, and 1 in 6 are obese, according to the American Psychological Association. These statistics are tracking children as young as 6 years old into their late teens, predisposing this age group to serious health risks, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Illustrating to youth the importance of making healthy choices early on will help them live a higher quality of life and reach optimum physical development.

Behavorial Benefits

Proper nutritional intake includes a variety of whole-food sources coming from complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats, which provide the necessary fuel for your body to process foods and break them down for energy. This allows your body to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout your body, including to your brain. According to the American Heart Association, 10 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 19 have cholesterol levels exceeding 200 mg/dl. Implementing a healthy diet is imperative for cognitive development and critical learning. Exercise also helps children feel more positively about their bodies and what they are capable of doing physically, while helping them to deal with emotions they may not have experienced before during their development. These emotions might include anxiety, sadness or stress resulting from new relationships with friends, or obstacles in the classroom.

Building a Better Body

Healthy eating and exercise also aids in building a strong immune system, which is imperative during the years of development to protect the body from various illnesses and equip it to deal with them in the future. Building strong, solid muscles and bones is also important from a functional fitness standpoint, because it makes the daily activities of life much less stressful on the body. Also, keeping body fat to a minimum is something that should be maintained for life, and if this is something that is monitored during early development, it makes the maintenance of it much simpler as the body grows and ages, and alleviates many of the illness mentioned. It also aids in eliminating excess stress on the muscles, joints and bone structure. This also helps alleviate postural problems that can occur during development.

Avoidance of Eating Disorders

Establishing healthy eating patterns and experiencing positive emotions resulting from exercise and recreational activities can help combat insecurities about the body’s appearance, especially in young girls. Understanding portion control and making whole, healthy food choices can help eliminate the dangerous cycle of starvation diets, using diet pills or laxatives and in serious cases becoming anorexic or bulimic. These conditions can result in extreme malnutrition and iron deficiencies, which can stunt healthy growth and development and in some cases lead to death.

Implementing Physical Activity

The American Heart Association recommends that children receive a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise per day. After a long day sitting at a desk, children should stay active after school instead of coming home and sitting in front of the television. Children spend an average of three hours in front of the television when they return home from school, so keeping them involved after school provides a healthy dose of activity. Involving them in sports they enjoy not only provides them with exercise but also helps establish team work and a sense of belonging. Implementing chores around the house that are functional in nature such as mowing the lawn, raking the leaves or scrubbing the floor help to build coordination, maturity and strength while also teaching them responsibility, all important factors for healthy growth and development.

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