Allison Rummell

Mr. White
AP Lit p.4
10/21/16

Senior Project Research Paper Research Section

MY QUESTIONS:
How does exercising affect children and why? Does exercising in your youth encourage a
healthier lifestyle?
Exercise is essential for development in children. Physical fitness is a state of being that
reflects a person's ability to perform specific exercises or functions and is related to present and
future health outcomes (Kohl III, et. al). Exercise helps children to achieve and maintain a
healthy weight, [improves] posture, [assists] with the development of gross motor and fine
motor skills, as well as [provides children with] the opportunity to develop fundamental
movement skills. (Penedo, et. al.). Regular physical activity has been proven to enhance growth
and development as well as having benefits for physical, mental, and psychosocial health.
Physical activity has shown to increase learning capability as well as a reduced risk for heart
disease, obesity, hypertension, and osteoporosis. Other benefits include improved overall
wellness and physical fitness including aerobic capacity, muscle and bone strength, flexibility,
insulin sensitivity, and lipid profiles; and reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.
Cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body
composition are components of health-related fitness historically assessed in school-based fitness
assessment programs (Kohl III, et. al ). A lower risk of heart disease is a positive result of
exercise (Baranowski, et. al). Being physically fit also puts children at a lower risk of developing

diabetes (Riddell, M. C. and Iscoe K. E.). According to the Center for Disease Control, seven
hours a week of physical activity puts people at a forty percent lower chance of dying early than
those who are active for less than thirty minutes a week. All it takes is at least 150 minutes a
week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. (Division of Nutrition, et.al).
Exercising in youth is very important to a healthy lifestyle. Physical activity is vital for a
childs development and lays the foundation for a healthy and active life. Developing good
habits for physical activity and healthy lifestyle early in life encourages regular exercise and
healthier lifestyle (NSW Ministry of Health Research Team). Learning healthy behaviors in
school also helps to make kids more healthy (Strong). Children should be encouraged to exercise
from birth (ACT Government Research Team). It is also important that children are not sedentary
for more than one hour at a time except for sleeping.
Exercising affects children by improving their health and wellness, as well as preparing
them for a healthy lifestyle. This can be attributed to learning good habit that they can keep
throughout their life and developing cardiovascular and muscular endurance at a young age
(Kohl III, et. al ). In correlation to my senior project, the children in the dance studio took class
at least one hour of class a week, and assuming they were playing during daily recess periods and
playing at home, this would help them to prolong their life starting at a young age. Dance
encapsulates the three major components of exercise: building endurance, strength, and
increasing flexibility (Nemours Research Team). Through this research, it is reasonable to
conclude that dance is an effective way for children to achieve a healthy life.

Works Cited

ACT Government Research Team. "Benefits of Regular Physical Activity." Kids at Play. Access
Canberra, ACT Government, 2016. Web.
Baranowski, T., et. al. (1992). Assessment, prevalence, and cardiovascular benefits of physical
activity and fitness in youth. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 24(6), S237-S247.
Division of Nutrition, et. al. Physical Activity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(September 15, 2016). Atlanta, Georgia. Web.
Kohl, Harold W.,III, and Cook, Heather D.. "Physical Activity and Physical Education:
Relationship to Growth, Development, and Health." (2013). Web.
Nemours Research Team. "Kids and Exercise." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about
Children's Health. The Nemours Foundation, 2016. Web.
NSW Ministry of Health Research Team. "Physical Activity." Healthy Kids :. NSW Ministry of
Health, NSW Department of Education, Office of Sport and the Heart Foundation., n.d.
Web.
Penedo, Frank J., and Jason R. Dahn. "Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and
physical health benefits associated with physical activity."Current opinion in psychiatry
18.2 (2005): 189-193.
Riddell, M. C., et. al. "Physical activity, sport, and pediatric diabetes." Pediatric diabetes
7.1 (2006): 60-70.
Strong, William B., et al. "Evidence based physical activity for school-age youth." The
Journal of pediatrics 146.6 (2005): 732-737.