A new study has shown that the best way to ensure your teenager’s mental and emotional wellness is to ensure that they lead a healthy and active lifestyle.
The study surveyed 2,400 children, and found that those who had a sedentary lifestyle, such as those who watched more TV or spent more time watching video games, were more likely to suffer from health problems (both mental and physical) than their more active counterparts. Children who played 2.5 or more hours of sport per day, however, reported a far better health record and sense of wellbeing than other children.
This report should encourage parents to become aware of how much exercise their children are taking. A senior research fellow in the study encouraged parents to recognise the fact that physical activity can have all kinds of different benefits to the mental and physical health of their children, and to limit the amount of time that they spend behind a screen of any kind.
This is particularly worrying as it was recently reported that children aged 8 – 10 in the UK generally spend 20 minutes or less per day on physical activity.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children spend at least 60 minutes every day engaged in some kind of physical activity. These activities should include exercises that get the heart pumping, such as aerobics, as well as those that strengthens the muscles and the bones. All exercises should also be age-appropriate, so that small children are able to access the type of physical activity that they enjoy and are good at (such as general running around) and older children have more structured routines and sports available to them.
Teenagers who take part in a more active lifestyle may well find that their confidence, happiness and sense of wellbeing are all greatly improved as a result.
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