Obesity in America: A Growing Problem

The obesity rate in America is at an all time high, and it is not stopping any time soon. Obesity not only affects adults but children as well. The Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines obesity as “Weight that is higher than what is considered as a healthy weight for a given height.” (citation needed) Soccer not only improves physical health but also mental health., working out at least once a day makes a person feel very accomplished and productive leading to less stress, and happier thoughts. Staying active is very important and beneficial to a person’s life. and Something must be done to help combat this epidemic, that is why I want to create soccer practices for children to stay healthy, learn, and do drills to improve their overall skill level. The game of soccer has been around for centuries and has been played around the world for that same time. Soccer is very physically demanding sport, you must be able to run at high speeds for short periods of time in random bursts.

However soccer is not only a physical sport but a mental game as well,players must be quick thinking and always alert in stressful situations. On average a soccer player will run up to 7 miles per game (Daily news), that is a lot to ask from a players body. Unlike other sports soccer is played on a field which is 110-120 yards long and 70-80 yards wide, which is a lot of space to cover over a 90 minute period. Soccer players have to be at top health and sharp thinkers to be the best they can. Soccer is not only affected by someone’s physical abilities, but also their mental health soccer clubs regularly have therapists come in and meet with players after tough losses or when players sustain a serious injury. This shows the importance mental health has on a soccer players performance, having a positive attitude and happy thoughts is very important to a player doing good.

The great ronaldinho once said “I learned about life with a ball at my feet,” this quote just shows that soccer is not only a physical sport but also a sport that shapes you as a person. Playing sports is good for high schools kids because, when you have practice for the sport it gives you a little break to forget what is going on around you and gives you the opportunity to have some personal time and practice your skills. Staying fit not only affects your physical side of your life but also your other side, with regular exercise it was found that you will sleep better, be more productive, and keep your brain sharp(huffington Post). Also doing soccer drills not only improves your soccer skill but also your fitness and builds your stamina, so that during games you re able to run more and perform the skills you have been practicing. Soccer drills can be very complex and makes you think fast on your feet, for example long ball drills involve the player sending the soccer ball across the field which requires focus and patience.

Obesity in America is an epidemic that does not look like it is going to stop any time soon, one main way to combat this epidemic is creating more opportunities for children or young children to get active and stay fit. Creating soccer practices for young kids is one way to keep kids healthy and fit, not only staying fit but also a break from studying and school to give their brain a break with some soccer. Combating obesity should be a priority on our agenda, The obesity rate in the United States is higher than it ever has been. Creating opportunities for teenagers like myself to exercise and perfect a craft is a good way to help combat the rising obesity rate in America. The obesity rate amongst adults in the United States is 39.8% which is 93.3 million people(CDC) and is rapidly growing. Playing sports has many other benefits besides the physical aspect of it. Brain function, personality, and inner body is affected with exercise and playing a sport like soccer. Lowering the obesity rate is important to our country’s and citizens wellbeing.

The Newport Academy published a report that teens that participate in school sports grade 8-12 have less stress and better mental health as young adults. Science proves that being physically active improves brain function and stress level. After conducting more research the answer was becoming more and more obvious, staying active or playing a sport combats obesity. Creating more opportunities for teens to exercise should be a priority if we want to combat obesity fully. Many studies show that exercising can help deal with depression and anxiety, it can be meditation or a bike ride down a mountain. Obesity and mental health are somewhat related, people who are not in good shape tend to have insecurities and doubts about themselves. Exercising and living a healthy lifestyle leads to better mental health. Mental health is a serious issue and should not be handled lightly, therefore creating opportunities to combat this is very important. Playing sports relieves stress and helps improves physical condition. Exercise has many benefits, not only for your physical health but also your mental health.

In your brain, exercise stimulates chemicals that improve your mood and the parts of the brain responsible for memory and learning. The more a person exercises, the more benefits come with it. Exercising helps reduce the risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many more, exercising also helps with recovery from mental illnesses. When going through mental illnesses people resort to many different outlets to help with recovery, one way is through exercising. When exercising blood is pumped through the brain which helps with clearing your mind and making you think properly and clearly. However soccer not only improves mental health but also brain function and health. Soccer combats decline in brain function with age and improves memory and brain abilities. Soccer is a aerobic sport which requires a lot of sprinting and fast breathing, soccer is one of the only sports that requires that much running. The average soccer player runs 7 miles in a game, which is one of the highest from the rest of the sports. Running is a cardiovascular exercise, a cardiovascular exercise is when the athlete’s heart rate increases while exercising.

When you do cardiovascular exercise regularly, it decreases your blood pressure and your resting heart rate. This means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard all of the time. Cardio increases blood flow and decreases chance of stroke, also improves memory and thinking ability. Playing soccer improves overall body function and mental ability, however soccer also increases muscle,brain function, clears skin, and improves blood sugar control. People that have diabetes are told to exercise regularly because sports have been proven to help with blood sugar levels and also the control of diabetes. Sports medicine is gaining popularity as a viable treatment option as supposed to traditional medicine such as diabetes pills, blood pressure pills, joint pains, etc. Soccer and sports in general can help with common diseases such as diabetes or blood pressure issues. Sports are not only good for the body, but the personality as well.

Many different studies have been done on this topic and shows that sports teach important life skills as well. Organized sports teach teenagers to respect elders and others around them at a young age, and teaches them how to deal with many different types of people. More importantly it teaches us how to lose. Keeping your cool during a loss is a hard thing to do, and sports gives you that opportunity to learn. Not everyone knows how to deal with losing or failure in general but going through it at a young age better prepares someone to deal with is in the future. Physical activity has been shown to stimulate chemicals in the brain that cause happiness (health direct). There is a direct correlation between exercising and good mental health, that is why sports in high school are so important. High school students stress level is at a all time high right now, and creating more opportunities for students to relieve their stress levels in a good environment.

Organized sports can shape a teenagers life for the better due to the discipline and respect involved. When on a sports team you have to talk to a lot of different types of people and deal with many different personalities, which improves social skills. Playing on a team creates bonds and new friendships with people expanding your social outlook. Organized sports also teaches leadership abilities, playing on a sports team teaches you how to handle conflicts between teammates and showing up on time and prepared for training. Practicing sports helps with improving your skill and gaining knowledge about the sport of choice. Being good at a sport comes with commitment and hard work, The average professional soccer player practices 5 days a week (according to Quora). Being good at anything comes with practice, soccer is a very hard sport to be good at however it is very possible with hard work. Soccer has many components to it there is finishing, heading, slide tackles, dribbling, and passing.

There are thousands of soccer drills that can help improve any aspect of your game. A player can set up cones and dribble through them with a ball to improve close dribbling, or a player can do outside the box shooting and practice finishing and shooting. Soccer is a very mental orientated sport, it takes quick thinking and peak physical performance to make a good soccer player. Malcolm Gladwell once said “the key to success in any field was a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of 10,000 hours”, no one can just be born with skills and good physical appearance you have to put in effort to reach that level.