Importance of Fitness for Teenagers
The topic of this essay is the importance of teenage fitness in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas). Many researchers have already proved that fitness and physical exercises are important for teenagers and help to improve their physical and mental health. However, nowadays, not all children have enough physical exercises. This fact is considered to be an important issue that is why it should be discussed.
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The target audience includes teenagers themselves, their parents, Physical Education teachers, fitness instructors for teenagers. In addition, other groups can be added to the audience depending on their influence on teenage fitness and teenagers. This audience has been chosen because all these groups are considered to be involved in the issue of fitness for teenagers. Teenagers are adult enough to understand the use of fitness for them. Their parents are usually the people who make the largest influence on their children. Finally, Physical Education teachers and fitness instructors for teenagers are involved in the issue strongly. Children’s interest in fitness often depends on them, they cannot only train teenagers but also help them be in a good physical form and realize its use.
Teenage fitness has been studied much. Most researches show that sport is important for teenagers. Without physical exercises, teenagers can improve their metabolism, which will prevent them from gaining weight rapidly. Lack of exercises among children can increase the likelihood of diabetes, cardio diseases and arthritis. In addition, it was proved that teen fitness leads to higher IQ. "Being fit means that you also have good heart and lung capacity and that your brain gets plenty of oxygen".
Unfortunately, in recent years, fewer and fewer teenagers take enough exercise. Researches by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that only 30% of teenagers take enough exercise. According to surveys, boys of 15-17 years spend in average 58 minutes a day on sports, but girls of the same age spend only 29 minutes. However, teenagers spend in average more than two hours on television every day (Price et al.).
The thesis is that the situation with teenager fitness is not very good today. It is wrong that children spend more time in front of TV-set than at sports. Such a situation can cause problems with health among teenagers. Thus, it is necessary to take some steps in order to improve the situation.
There can be several ways to improve teenagers’ involvement in sports. Popularization of fitness should be spread. In the Rio Grande Valley, people can use different kinds of mass media to inform teenagers about the importance of sport for them. As they watch TV a lot, it would be a rational decision to place information there. Other important sources may include teenager magazines, the Internet, social networks and radio. It is extremely important to involve teenage girls in spots because they usually spend less time on it.
Parents play an important role, as well. It is necessary to persuade them to be involved in children’s fitness. Parents’ participating in sports has many benefits. By seeing parents’ interest, teenagers can become more interested in sport and their results. Parents can participate in children’s sport activity in different ways. They can speak with children about the importance of sports and goals. Parents can encourage teenagers’ involvement in sports they like or to try other sports. It is also important to communicate with coaches. A good coach can increase teenagers’ interest in sport, as well.
I think that parents and coaches are morally responsible for teenagers’ involvement in sports. They should understand that lack of interest in sports can be caused by them, even unwittingly. A coach should be able to make a child like the sport he teaches. Parents are more responsible. They should explain the role of sports and healthy lifestyle to their children. If it is possible, they should show an example for their children. It is better to prevent problems than to feel guilty for them.
In fact, the issue of teenage fitness is very important at the moment. Children are under risk of bad health due to their unhealthy lifestyles. There are a lot of examples when lack of sports caused some health problems among teenagers.
Moreover, sport among teenagers is important not only for them but for the whole society. Healthy children become soon healthy adults. They can work better. Popularity of sports among teenagers can also increase the employment of coaches, which is the economic and social benefit. In addition, knowing about the importance of sports and health can prevent children from smoking, alcohol and drugs. That is why teenage sports have social benefits.
The opponents of this idea have several opinions on the topic. They state that fitness may be harmful for children, especially when the sport is chosen incorrectly or when children spend too much time on that. Moreover, if children spend much time on fitness, they have less time for study and sleep. It is proved that lack of sleep increases risks of sport injuries.
It is also stated that not all children have the time or ability to do sports. Not all families can pay for exercisers. In addition, when children spend much time on sports, they can have some problems with study because they have less time for it.
However, both statements are misleading. The use of sports for teenagers is larger than the harm from it. Of course, it is necessary to choose optimal time for daily trainings. It is not a good idea to give up sleep and study because of sports. Of course, not all parents can buy exercisers. However, they are not always necessary. Children can run or jog in the yard, they can do exercisers at home, and they can ride bicycle or rollers. These activities are good sports, too. Moreover, according to surveys, in average, children spend on television about two hours, but one hour on sports. Therefore, an average teenager has enough time to be involved in sports and not to be bad in study.
To summarize, teenage sports and involvement in them are the important issues now. Due to television, computer and other factors children become less and less involved in sport activities. It can be harmful to their health now and in adult age. In addition, these problems can cause overall social problems. To solve these problems, several main ways can be used. Sports should be popularized either through mass media or by parents and teachers. The parents’ involvement is very important. They can persuade teenagers to do sports and be satisfied with that. In addition, sport activities and knowledge about healthy lifestyles can prevent children from different harmful factors. For example, they would watch TV less and protect their sight; they would also be less likely to try drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Parents, teachers and couches should persuade teenagers to do sports.