Child-friendly strength training can help children

Child-oriented strength training can help obese children

02/24/2015

Whether dumbbell training, Zumba or Pilates: After a long day in the office, it drives many adults to the gym after work in order to do something good for their body through sport and relaxation. The offers of the studios are no longer geared to the grown-ups, instead there are more and more frequently special strength trainings, yoga or dance classes addressed to children and adolescents. What many critically eyed, however, could represent a meaningful alternative to endurance sports such as running or swimming, especially for young people with obesity.

Area-wide trend not yet apparent
„Children and adolescents as a new target group for fitness and weight training?“ This question could be faced with child yoga and 16-year-olds at the weight bench quickly. But from the point of view of the director of the Association of German Fitness and Health Care Systems (DSSV), Refit Kamberovic, is not yet „Fitness boom“ to identify among young people: „Sure, there are a few such offers, but in my opinion there is no such thing as a widespread trend“, so the expert opposite the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (F.A.S.). In many cases, according to Kamberovic, this would not pay off either, because in sports clubs young people could often train much cheaper and more child-friendly. In addition, especially in the field of strength and endurance training, the demand is currently not large enough, so that it would not be worthwhile for many studios to purchase the specially designed for children devices.

Strength training could bring good results in obesity
Nevertheless, with the offer of a special training for young people in the future an important task would come to the sports studios, because „The number of obese children and adolescents is rising steadily. The fact that these young people enjoy exercise and sport is the joint responsibility of parents, schools, sports clubs and even the fitness industry“, Kamberovic continues to the newspaper. Strength training as an aid to weight loss? For experts like Professor Dietmar Schmidtbleicher from the Institute of Sports Science of Frankfurt University quite a sensible approach: „Studies in the United States have shown that weight training is good for obese children“, explains the professor to F.A.S. In this country, however, it was still common that children with obesity and obesity to endurance sports such as running or swimming would be stopped, „Because endurance training is called calorie burning“. For those affected, however, this often meant frustration and barely recognizable successes - which could be changed by specially tailored fitness programs for children.

Motivation and success instead of teasing and frustration
In the US, a joint strength training for children with and without weight problems is already offered, which often has a positive effect for the overweight: Because more kilos usually also means more strength, those affected could lift more weight than the thin peers - and thus impression Instead of being teased in sports lessons, Schmidtbleicher explains. On the one hand, such a sense of achievement leads to motivation and a stronger attachment to sport. In addition, US studies have also shown that frequent exercise repeats over weeks in obese children are similar in effect to endurance exercise because building muscle automatically burns more calories.

For Christoph Eifler, Professor of Exercise and Training Sciences at the German University for Prevention and Health Management, special offers tailored to children are also a sensible idea. More and more young people are affected by sedentary lifestyle and illnesses such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes, it's hugely important to tackle these issues, the expert told the newspaper. „Just pedagogically high-quality group offers for children and young people, where they have fun, are a future market for the fitness industry.“

Increase in muscle mass is not the focus
However, according to Michael Fröhlich from the Sports Science Institute of the Saarland University, many people think that strength training is confused with bodybuilding - a reason why exercises for children are often viewed critically. But „The strength training for children is not primarily about the increase in muscle mass“, explains Michael Fröhlich in the F.A.S. Instead, age- and development-specific strength training for children promotes good body and physical well-being. In addition, the more powerful muscles would provide additional stability of ligaments and joints, which could prevent injury, for example, in the case of kinking. In addition, from the point of view of Fröhlich, a combination of strength training and team sport is particularly useful for children. Versatility plays a key role in this, for example, when the child plays handball and in addition strengthens his muscles with dumbbells or the medicine ball, according to the expert.

First fitness facility for children „zest“ must close again
In April 2013, the first device-based fitness facility for children in Germany had been opened in Hamburg in order to bring more children to the sport. Under the motto „Away from the PC, TV and fast food to more exercise“ it had been the sports school „zest“ set the goal to children with „vulnerability“ such as being overweight, having diabetes or poor posture to provide a space to have fun in a sporting activity and at the same time to promote the personal development and health of children and adolescents. A meaningful project - but apparently had no success and according to the operator „due to lack of support from politics, authorities and the economy“ had to be adjusted. (No)