What is the psychological risk for children who don’t participate in enough physical activity?

It’s evident that lack of exercise can lead to obesity and other physical health problems in youth (13,17). As well as obesity being a risk factor for cardiovascular and chronic metabolic diseases (4,18), it’s also demonstrated that in children 5-7 years of age that obesity puts their psychological well-being at risk too (18).

Low self-esteem and depression have been shown as psychological health consequences resulting from being overweight or obese at an early age (19).

One particular study showed the benefits of an 8-week resistance training program which improved body composition on the psychological benefits for young boys and girls…

• For adolescent boys there was a positive relationship in reductions in body fat and physical self-worth
• In adolescent girls there was a positive relationship in reductions in body fat and perceived body attractiveness
• Also, for girls, free weight training showed an increase in perceived body attractiveness (15)

These findings have been shown to be important as body image and appearance are important factors in physical activity decision making in adolescent girls (15).

One of the biggest reasons that weight training has been shown to improve psychological health is that the adaptations can be seen more visibly in body image and increased strength levels. These changes are a lot more noticeable than with just cardio training alone (19).

Resistance training may be the one piece of the puzzle that your child is missing to achieve both physical and psychological wellness.