EXERCISE

From the time of such theorists as French philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), it has been believed that the child's health plays an important role in development. Some theorists have recognized the importance of regular physical activity in promoting healthy children. It was not until the twentieth century, however, that researchers began examining the importance of regular exercise in the development of children.

Exercise and Fitness

Children seem to have an endless supply of energy. They are often highly active and are almost constantly playing. Play is any spontaneous activity used for the child's amusement. Exercise is more planned and structured. The allure of amusement for children can be a motivating tool to direct children's activities for the purpose of exercise.

Exercise is used for the development of fitness, which comes in two primary forms, motor fitness and physical fitness. Motor fitness includes balance, coordination, motion, and speed and is developed in the first few years of a child's life through play exercises. Physical fitness includes aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Physical fitness can be addressed in children as young as five years of age and continues to affect health through adulthood.

Aerobic fitness involves the efficiency of the heart and lungs. An exercise program that consists of continuous activity for twenty to thirty minutes four to six times a week produces an improvement in aerobic fitness. Any improvement in aerobic fitness leads to a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and a measurable decrease in stress. Children with high levels of aerobic fitness grow up to be healthier adults.

Muscle strength and endurance measure how strong muscles are and how long they are able to do work. Children improve muscle strength and endurance when they exercise. A typical program would have various exercises for each area of the body. Each exercise is usually repeated eight to ten times. The benefits of increased strength and endurance include more efficient muscles and a decreased risk of injuries. By strengthening muscles around joints, joints become stronger, thus avoiding many hyperflexibility injuries.

Flexibility is the range of motion in joints. The range of motion a joint has is determined by the tightness of muscles and other connective tissue surrounding a joint. Joints can have too much range of motion (known as hyperflexibility), or they can have a limited range of motion. Stretching should be done regularly to prevent overtightness. Each stretching exercise, such as touching one's toes, should be held for at least thirty seconds without bouncing. This should be done three times for each exercise.

Body composition is a major area of concern in physical fitness. Studies have shown that children are getting fatter. The body mass index (BMI) is a weight-to-height comparison (weight divided by height squared). Children who are above the 85th percentile on the BMI are considered overweight. Studies have shown that overweight children tend to remain over-weight as adults. Early intervention appears to be the key to maintaining normal weight throughout life. Children are able to lose excess weight by combining an intense exercise program with dietary monitoring and counseling. For these children, normal weight can be maintained into adulthood only if these exercise and eating habits become a permanent lifestyle change.

Sources of Exercise

Children get exercise from their play activities. Children who are highly active typically do not carry excess weight. While this regular activity is rarely long enough or intense enough to provide other immediate health benefits, active children tend to become active adults, and active adults are generally healthier than sedentary adults.

School physical education (PE) programs tend to be the primary source of exercise for children. PE programs provide opportunities for activity and to teach children about the principles of exercise. The limited time allotted for PE programs in most schools provides little benefit to children's health. Children typically spend two to four hours a week in PE programs. This is not enough time to adequately cover physical health education as well as give children time to exercise in class to improve their own fitness levels.

Athletic programs tend to provide children with the most exercise, but of a limited nature. Each sport has different demands and exercises the body in specific ways. For example, football is good for developing motor skills and strength but does very little for aerobic fitness. Swimming, on the other hand, is very good for aerobic fitness but can hinder flexibility. Children should be encouraged to take part in a variety of complementary sports in order to increase all areas of fitness.

Community programs provided by local recreation departments, YMCAs, or Boys and Girls Clubs exist in many areas. These programs are often not as strenuous as athletic programs but provide more time for improving children's fitness.

Exercise affects not only motor and physical fitness but also such developmental areas as cognitive ability, social development, and self-esteem. These benefits should also be considered when involving children in exercise activities.

Cognitive Development and Exercise

Although there has not been much evidence to show a direct impact of exercise on cognition, exercise has been theorized to help in the development of cognitive ability. Some studies have shown the use of small muscle exercises to increase brain growth, although whether this leads to improved cognitive ability has not been determined.

One study compared children who exercised with children who did not exercise. Children who exercised performed better on a standardized test than children who were not in the exercise group. This study suggests that children who regularly exercise may perform better in school.

Social Development and Exercise

Exercise can be used as a tool to achieve socialization. Many different exercises play a role in socialization: partnered exercise such as dancing help children learn to cooperate; games and dances passed on from older generations help to inculturate children; and group sports teach teamwork as well as sportsmanship.

Self-esteem is directly influenced by exercise by providing the opportunity for children to explore their bodies' abilities. This exploration molds children's self-concept. When exercise is based on individual performance levels and improvements are made, increased self-esteem often results. By using tools such as self-talk, goal-setting, and self-assessment, exercise can help children gain a more positive self-concept and better self-esteem. Positive self-esteem leads to improved cognitive and social development.

The Right Amount of Exercise

In normally active children, exercise-related injuries and problems are few and far between. Physical education teachers, coaches, and doctors can typically provide the supervision necessary to prevent harm from occurring. Teachers and coaches are educated specifically about exercise in children. Professionals who work closely with children can help each child determine his or her own limits.

The primary risk associated with exercise is overuse injuries such as muscle strains, tendonitis, stress fractures, and other soft tissue damage. These are typically caused by doing too much too soon and are usually repaired by resting the injured area.

Two areas of concern specific to children are injuries to the growth plate and increased risk of heat exhaustion/heat stroke. Children's bones have weak areas near each end where growth takes place. These are called growth plates and are susceptible to breakage. Also, for children competing at an elite level in high-impact sports such as gymnastics there is an increased risk of a premature closing of this growth plate, which could result in stunted growth. By increasing exercise intensities gradually over time, these types of injuries can be avoided.

Children's body temperature regulation has not yet matured so there is increased risk of temperature misregulation during exercise. Children are more susceptible than adults to heat exhaustion and heat stroke in extreme heat conditions and to hypothermia in chilly water. These extreme temperature conditions should be avoided whenever possible or children should be closely monitored while exercising at these times.

Parents of preteen girls are often concerned about exercise's impact on the menstrual cycle. Endurance sports such as running and swimming promote lean body mass, yet a certain amount of body fat is necessary for proper menstrual function. Late onset of menstruation or the cessation of menstruation can be caused by extreme lean body composition. This does not, however, appear to lead to long-term reproductive health problems.

All children, even those with chronic illnesses such as asthma and diabetes and those with motor dysfunction, must include exercise as part of a total fitness program. All children can engage in exercise that will increase their overall heath. In special cases, professionals such as doctors, teachers, and coaches can work together to create an exercise program that will benefit the health and self-esteem of a child.

Regular exercise is important to the development of healthy children. With proper use of exercise principles and good professional supervision, exercise can help all children develop into healthy adults.

See also: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Bibliography

Armstrong, Neil, and Joanne Welsman. Young People and Physical Activity. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

"Exercise (Physical Activity) and Children." In the American Heart Association [web site]. Dallas, Texas, 2000. Available from http://www.americanheart.org/Heart_and_Stroke_A_Z_Guide/exercisek.html; INTERNET.

Pařízková, Jana. Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Health in Early Life. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1996.

Rowland, Thomas W. Exercise and Children's Health. Champaign, IL:Human Kinetics Books, 1990.

Shawn R. A. Svoboda-Barber