Outdoor activity boosts you children's physical and mental health. In an August 2010 article for "The Times-Tribune," Paul J. MacKarey, D.H.Sc., cites studies finding American children spend an average of 6.5 hours daily engaged in sedentary indoor activities, increasing their risk of obesity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends children exercise for at least an hour a day, preferably outdoors, to maintain their health and fitness.
Physical Benefits of Exercise
In 2008, the incidence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 increased 19.6 percent between 1980 and 2008, while increasing 18.1 percent in children aged 12 to 19, reported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The DHHS notes an obese child runs the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while indicating outdoor play can help diabetic children by improving their sensitivity to insulin. The Department reports that regular vigorous outdoor activity enhances muscle and bone development, while promoting a healthy cardiovascular system.
Stress Reduction and Mental Health
The DHHS also indicates that outdoor exercise improves children's focus and concentration, which fosters better behavior at school. The National Wildlife Federation cites a study published by Nancy M. Wells, an environmental psychologist with Cornell University, in "Environment and Behavior" that indicates outdoor play helps children develop self control, reducing incidences of ADHD. In her article for the March 2008 "Monitor on Psychology," Amy Novotney also cites Wells' study to indicate that children who live in close proximity to nature and spend significant time outdoors handle stress more capably than peers who don't have easy access to natural settings.
Vitamin D Intake
The National Institutes of Health reports that insufficient exposure to sunshine can create vitamin D deficiency in children, which may lead to the development of rickets, a condition in which bone tissue softens, potentially creating skeletal deformities. Sunlight's ultraviolet radiation converts the 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin into vitamin D-3. This vitamin precursor travels into the child's liver and kidneys, which transform it into vitamin D. The NIH notes that while excessive exposure to the sun's ultraviolet radiation poses the potential hazard of skin melanoma development, research indicates that sunlight exposure lasting 5 to 30 minutes twice a week is sufficient to safely produce adequate levels of vitamin D.
Vision Benefits
Amanda Leigh Mascarelli's February 13, 2011 report for "The Los Angeles Times" indicates that between 1970 and 2000, myopia cases rose 66 percent. An article by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang for "The New York Times" suggests that children's lack of exposure to natural light is partially responsible for the rise, indicating that such exposure ensures that the eye's lens maintains the proper distance from the retina for optimal vision. Aamodt and Wang hypothesize that when a child spends the majority of her time indoors under artificial lights, the distance between her lens and retina increases, rendering distant objects blurry and causing nearsightedness.
References
- "The Times Tribune"; Benefits of Outdoor Exercise Go Beyond Fitness; Paul J. MacKarey, P.T., D.H.Sc., O.C.S.; August 2010
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Call to Activity: Getting Kids Moving in the Great Outdoors
- "Monitor on Psychology"; Getting Back to the Great Outdoors; Amy Novotney; March 2008
- National Wildlife Federation: Why Be Out There?: Health Benefits
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Youth: Health Topics: Childhood Obesity
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D
