10 Benefits of Physical Activity for Kids

When many people decide to "get fit," they assume it involves rigorous activity, but you don't have to spend hours in a gym to be physically active. People can get in shape by performing everyday activities in the home. Every time you and your child throw a softball, swim a lap, climb a flight of stairs, walk to the store, or carry packages, your health and fitness levels are improving.

When someone is physically fit, they feel better and stay healthier. Plus, the earlier a child starts getting in shape, the more they'll reduce their risk of numerous illnesses.

Here are some of the benefits that physical activity offers your child.

1. Strengthens the Heart

The heart is a muscle, and like other muscles, its performance improves when it's regularly challenged by exercise. Strengthening the heart muscle can help ward off heart disease—the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—even in early childhood.

2. Helps Keep Arteries and Veins Clear

Exercise reduces the amount of harmful cholesterol and fats in a person's blood. It also increases the flexibility of the walls of blood vessels, and it helps to lower blood pressure. This can reduce a person's risk for heart attack and stroke.

3. Makes the Lungs More Efficient

Working hard increases lung capacity, as well as their efficiency in moving air in and out of the body. As a result, more oxygen is drawn into the body and more carbon dioxide and other waste gases are expelled. Regular exercise helps prevent the decline in oxygen intake that occurs naturally with age or as a result of inactivity.

4. Reduces Blood Sugar Levels

Exercise prevents sugar from accumulating in the blood by triggering muscles to take up more glucose from the bloodstream and use it for energy. This can reduce a person's risk of developing diabetes.

5. Controls Weight

When a person is sedentary, they tend to be taking in more calories than are needed. These unused calories accumulate as fat. Someone who is physically active may have a deficit of calories, which takes fat away and lowers weight. Decreased weight is good for the heart and can be especially beneficial in those with diabetes.

6. Strengthens Bones

Just as muscles grow stronger when physically stressed, bones also respond by getting stronger. Adults start losing bone mass in their 20s, but those who exercise regularly reach greater peak bone density (before the drop-off) than those who don't, according to the National Institutes of Health. Increased bone density helps prevent osteoporosis, a condition in which bones lose density, weaken, and become porous and fragile.

7. Helps Prevent Cancer

People who exercise regularly have lower incidences of cancer. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, the cancers most affected by inactivity include colon, endometrial, and lung.

8. Regulates Blood Pressure

Exercise has been shown to reduce stress levels. As the levels of stress in a person's body subsides, their blood pressure and risk for heart disease decline.

9. Boosts Energy Levels

Regular exercise often makes people feel more energetic, allows them to be more active, and reduces the likelihood that they'll tire during the day.

10. Enhances Emotional Well-Being

Most people report that they feel calm and have a sense of well-being after they exercise. Exercise, according to one theory, releases beta-endorphin, a natural substance in the body that is hundreds of times more potent than morphine.

A May 2019 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical the body produces, increases during exercise and can boost the energy and strength of our nerve cells, which may help ward off neurological disorders like Parkinson's Disease. Increased levels of serotonin in the central nervous system are also associated with feelings of well-being, heightening of appetite, and lessening of mental depression.

Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics; American Medical Association; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services