I tuned in to the show “Too Fat for Fifteen,” and had tears in my eyes as I watched the daily life struggles of the real kids who were fighting a personal battle with obesity. I tried to wrap my head around the background of this epidemic. I make every effort to consistently offer the teens, tweens, parents and teachers who take time out of their day to join me in school assemblies the opportunity to gain knowledge from someone else’s struggles, whether they are mine or not. At the very least I felt as if I owed you all an article about the benefits and rewards of exercising because at the end of the day, I know personally what it does for me! For me, it just plain makes me feel good! The endorphin rush achieved when I find myself in a gym, bike path, or treadmill sweating with purpose, lifts me emotionally, spiritually and physically.
So it seems there actually ARE benefits to teens who make exercise part of their daily routine. According to research published in Pediatrics, by Melissa Nelson, RD (University of Minnesota in Minneapolis), and Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), “physically active teens are less likely to engage in risky behaviors and are more likely to have positive traits including self-esteem, higher grades, and more SLEEP!”
As you probably could guess The reward far outweighed the risk. Nelson and Gordon Larsen assembled and distributed a national survey which involved adolescent health tendencies and behaviors. Aproximately 12,000 youths in grades 7-12 participated in the survey and did so again one year later in the follow-up survey.
Participants of the survey reported how often they had engaged in various activities with a one-week time frame. Activities included playing sports at school or with their families, using neighborhood recreation centers, skating, skateboarding, bicycling, taking physical education (P.E.) classes, watching TV, and playing video games. Also included in the survey were questions related to, self-esteem, smoking, drinking, and sexual activity. The researchers checked the surveys for insight relative to teens’ physical activity and behavior.
The Bottom Line:
Physically active participants fared better virtually across the board than couch potatoes. When compared with participants whose main activities were watching TV and playing video games, those reporting five or more weekly physical activities reported several advantages.
TOP 10 benefits and rewards to including exercise in your daily routine
- Less likely to have sex, including sex without birth control
- Less likely to smoke cigarettes
- Less likely to get drunk frequently or drive while drunk
- Less likely to use illegal drugs other than marijuana
- Less likely to be absent from school
- Less likely to not wear a seatbelt
- Less likely to have low self-esteem
- More likely to get ‘A’ grades in math and science
- More likely to sleep at least eight hours per night
- 10. More likely to do housework and have summer jobs outside the home
“At this point, we’re still trying to understand all of the benefits of being active,” Nelson says in the news release. “This research leads us to believe that those benefits extend well beyond physical fitness.”
“It could be that active teens are being exposed to more opportunities for team-building, engaging in more social interactions with others, or seeing the benefits of hard work and practice,” she says.
No particular physical activity stood out as being best, Nelson notes. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing,” she says.
Nelson’s advice: “Helping to provide kids with the opportunity to get involved in any number of physical activities, instead of staying at home and watching TV, may provide a kind of resilience against engaging in these or other risky behaviors.”
In life in general I like to know the benefits to most anything I choose to engage in. I also try to appreciate the risk and rewards of my behavior and personal choices before making a commitment. If I could go back in time and relive my teens, knowing what I know today, and with what research has provided us since, I would do things a lot differently. You all are still young enough to develop healthy habits. Your physical self requires physical activity. You will enjoy the rewards, and even though you may not see the benefits of exercising right away, I guarantee you will experience them immediately!
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Jeff Yalden is a teen expert, teen life coach, teen motivational speaker, and a passionate mentor to teens. Since 1992, Jeff Yalden has shared his message with thousands of high school and middle school students while delivering his awesome school assembly programs. For more information about Jeff, please visit www.JeffYalden.com or www.JeffYaldenBlog.com.
