Do research on the benefits and risks of exercise and youth. Give at least five resources (no more than five years old) and state the findings of your research. Is weight training safe and effective for young people? If not, why not?
Solution
Benefits and Risks of Exercise in Youth
Sports and physical training programs have adopted the use of weight training (also known as strength training) as an essential component for youth. Most of the youth utilize weight training as a means of increasing their muscle size to enhance appearance. However, this is not the only advantage of exercise and weight training. This paper outlines the benefits and risks of weight training in youth.
One obvious benefit of weight training is getting stronger. In addition to this, weight training in youth may be undertaken for the following advantages; it improves the endurance of muscles; improves bone mineral density; improves card-respiratory fitness; increases resistance to injury; stimulates bone mineralization and has a positive effect on bone density. Besides the physical benefits, weight training improves the overall well-being of youth especially those affected by cerebral palsy. In the long term, exercise can improve the individual’s academic performance by improving attentiveness and concentration in class. (Pfahler)
Despite all this, weight training has some potential risks. The primary concern arises from injuries that can occur during training as well as overuse of the activity. Injuries often happen when youth train more aggressively and repetitively than recommended for their age and sports level. The risk becomes more pronounced when the person engages in overlapping games activities. This is evidenced by decreased performance even after hard training, increased pain and an increase in the frequency of injuries. (Janssen and LeBlanc)
As can be seen from above, youth can engage in a well-supervised weight training exercise program successfully and effectively to improve their overall health and strength. A trained professional will play a huge role to ensure that proper techniques, form, training progression and safety of this age group. This view is supported by The American College of Sports Medicine which duly supports the Physical Activity Guidelines for America (2008) which aims to increase the number of youth who participate in weight training activities regularly. (Avery)
References
Avery, D. “Youth Strength Training: Facts and Fallacies.” American College of Sports Medicine (2012).
Janssen, Ian and Allana G LeBlanc. “Review Systematic review of the health benefits of physical.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 7.40 (2010).
Kann, Laura , Steve Kinchen and Shari L. Shanklin. “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2013.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – MMWR 63 (2014).
Pfahler, Laurel . “The risks and benefits of strength training for youth athletes.” 2014. Youthletic. <https://www.youthletic.com/authors/935/>.
Strath, SJ, LA Kanisky and BE Ainsworth . “Guide to the assessment of physical activity: Clinical and research applications: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association.” Circulation 128 (2013).
