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The Impact of Sports on People's Health

Mar 7, 2011 | By Lisa Mercer
The Impact of Sports on People's Health
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Health, the World Health Organization explains, is not just the absence of disease. It is a holistic state of social, mental and physical well-being. Athletic activity inspires people to engage in healthy lifestyles and socialize with members of their community. The international organization called Right To Play believes that sport improves health through the physical activity required as a player, and through the social interaction that occurs among spectators.

History

Gym class was not always a part of the public school curriculum. This bothered exercise expert Bonnie Prudden, "Sports Illustrated" magazine reports. In 1945, she administered the fitness test developed by Drs. Hans Kraus and Sonja Weber to children in the United States, Europe and Central America. In 1955, she delivered her results to President Eisenhower, in what the magazine calls "The Report that Shocked the President." The failure rate of American children on strength and flexibility tests was found to exceed those of children from other nations. This inspired Eisenhower to form the President's Council on Youth Fitness, now called the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.

Preventing Obesity

Preventing obesity in childhood, and eventually adulthood, through sport participation and proper diet is one of the main goals of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Each subsequent administration had its own variant on a fitness and wellness program aimed at children. First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" program and its various subdivisions, for example, integrated increased activity with nutrition. The "Let's Move Towns and Cities" program encourages a community approach to assuring safe walking routes and bicycle paths, the initiative's website reports. The "Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools" program, meanwhile, provides grants for schools interested in improving their lunch programs by adding salad bars, which can provide the fuel necessary for an active lifestyle. These programs, while improving health, encourage community involvement, thereby enhancing the mental-health benefits associated with social activity.

Female Health

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states that schools receiving federal funds must provide equal athletic opportunities for boys and girls. From 2005 to 2008, economics professor Robert Kaestner of the University of Illinois at Chicago compared obesity rates and physical activity levels of girls who went to high school during the Title IX years, and women who went to school before the program was implemented. Kaestner reported that 20 to 25 years later, the women who benefited from Title IX had a 7-percent lower obesity risk. Another study, performed by economist Dr. Betsey Stevenson of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, found that girls who went to school during the Title IX period had higher self-esteem, employment and education.

Peace and National Pride

The International Platform on Sport and Development is an organization that promotes peaceful relations through sport. Its initiatives include Generations for Peace in Jordan, Peace and Sport in Monaco, PeacePlayers International in the Middle East, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, New Orleans and South Africa and the Peres Center for Peace in Israel, its website reports. These organizations use sport camps to promote peaceful relationships among children from communities otherwise at conflict. Anyone who has ever experienced goosebumps when their national anthem is played during the Olympics knows that athletic activity fosters a sense of national pride, which may indirectly affect self esteem.

References

Article reviewed by Will McCahill Last updated on: Mar 7, 2011

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