The age between childhood and teen years is often referred to as prepubertal, or in some cases, a pre-teen or tween. This can be a challenging time for kids because their bodies are just starting to change. One change that may take place is losing baby or childhood fat. While some kids may lose it naturally, it may take a physical exercise program for some in order to develop lean muscle and get rid of pounds.
Weight Reduction
Making sure your child makes physical exercise part of his routine will help him maintain a healthy weight and combat obesity. Weight control is a direct effect of exercising on a day-to-day basis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children should get up to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. They should engage in exercise programs that include aerobic activity that raises heart rate, muscle-strengthening exercises to help develop lean muscle mass and bone-strengthening exercises such as running and jumping rope to promote solid bone mass. Exercising daily at home or at school can help keep your child's weight in a healthy range and teach him good physical fitness characteristics.
Type 2 Diabetes
By maintaining a healthy weight through exercise from an after-school activity or community sport, your child may reduce her chance of developing type 2 diabetes as she gets older. The American Diabetes Association reports that as many as 2 million prepubertal children and teenagers have pre-diabetes. The number one thing that children with pre-diabetes can do to prevent the condition from developing into diabetes in adulthood is to control their weight through proper diet and exercise.
Healthy Habits
If your prepubertal child is exercising regularly, he is learning healthy habits that will last a lifetime and help prevent disease in his adult life. And if your child is engaging in one healthy habit, he may want to engage in others, such as healthy eating habits. Choosing foods from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's My Pyramid will help create a healthy meal program that the entire family can use. Eating foods rich in whole grains, lean meats, beans, poultry, fish, eggs and unsaturated fats will also help reduce his waistline along with exercise.
Self-Esteem
Exercise can also help with self-esteem issues in the prepubertal child. Extra pounds that plagued her before can be transformed into lean muscle mass. This will help her feel better about herself in the crucial peer judgment time period of puberty. An exercise program can also introduce her to certain team sports she may want to play in middle school or junior high, such as basketball, softball, track and field and tennis, thereby offering her more social opportunities.
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