What is physical activity
What is physical activity
Physical activity "refers to all bodily movements caused by skeletal muscle contraction and resulting in an increase in energy expenditure on the basis of resting energy expenditure.
The physical activities of children and adolescents include play, games, sports, transportation, household chores, entertainment, physical education classes, or planned exercise in the home, school, and community. They can generally be divided into "daily activities," "leisure activities," and "sports. Therefore, the scope of the concept of "physical activity" is broader than that of "sports".
(1) Due to the relatively longer time spent on "daily activities" and "leisure activities" in daily life, it is recommended to start by increasing physical activity in these two parts to encourage and help children and adolescents develop an active lifestyle.
(2) Sports games such as ball tapping and skipping rope in leisure activities are the main forms of moderate to high intensity physical activity for children (3-5 years old). The main goal of this stage is to cultivate children's interest in sports while laying the foundation for the development of various sports abilities, that is, to comprehensively develop their basic motor skills and physical fitness. At this time, attention should be paid to the fun and diversity of game types.
(3) Children and adolescents aged 6-17 can gradually practice certain sports such as basketball, football, and swimming based on their interests, but at the same time, they should also pay attention to the balanced development of various basic physical fitness and avoid premature specialized training.
In addition, children and adolescents can also engage in appropriate exercises to strengthen their skeletal muscles, such as sit ups and standing long jumps, but should not excessively pursue strength growth before puberty. After experiencing the second peak of sudden height gain, the muscles enter a period of rapid growth, making it more suitable for specialized strength training; In the middle and late stages of adolescence, the cardiovascular function gradually develops and improves before engaging in long-term aerobic endurance and other quality training.
Knowledge Expansion
- Resting energy expenditure
Resting energy expenditure refers to the energy expenditure during conscious lying down rest, mainly used to maintain the normal function of body cells and organs and the awakening state of the human body. - Daily activities
Daily activities refer to various "small things" around us, including daily life skills, household chores, and active modes of transportation. Encouraging children to engage in the above daily activities can effectively increase their physical activity levels. - Basic motor skills
Including mobility skills, object control skills, body stability skills, and fine control skills. - Physical fitness
Generally includes agility, coordination, balance, speed, strength, and endurance. - Peak of sudden increase in second height
Pre adolescence is the period of fastest growth in height, known as the second peak of sudden height increase, lasting approximately one year. Girls appear between the ages of 11 and 13, while boys appear between the ages of 13 and 15.
Misunderstanding interpretation
Physical activity does not include doing household chores
This statement is incorrect. The physical activities of children and adolescents can be divided into "daily activities", "leisure activities", and "sports", and doing household chores is also a type of "daily activities". Due to the relatively longer time that "daily activities" occupy in daily life, it is easier to improve physical activity levels by increasing physical activity in daily life.