Recreational Sports Teams in Schools

Recreational Sports Teams in Schools

It is common knowledge that America is sick. We are fighting a war against chronic diseases and obesity. As adults 75% of my generation are estimated to be overweight and 41% of us will be classified as obese. Multiple studies have shown that teenagers who are at a healthy weight have a significantly reduced chance of being overweight as an adult.  But as a society our routines aren’t structured to fit in daily exercise. Surveys have revealed that only 2.1% of high school provide daily amounts of exercise year round and most of these opportunities require trying out for the school’s teams. As a result mainly the teenagers who are already fit and healthy are getting the exercise they need while those significantly lacking physical activity don’t have easy access to it. By providing students the opportunity to participate in a school recreational sports team where there are no tryouts, all types of kids would have the ability to fit in daily workouts year round. Having recreational sports teams in school would give students a chance to stay active and prevent future health risks without having to make the serious time commitments that are required by competitive teams.        

In most high schools, students are usually only required to take a semester of PE in order to graduate. However this does not fulfill the daily exercise needed to stay fit. According to the U.S. Department of Health, kids between the ages of 6 and 17 require a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity daily. This is very hard to do for high school students, who often have excessive amounts of homework and other commitments. With the system that is in place now, only about 29% of high school students get the recommended amount of physical activity. The effects of this are seen every day in kids across the nation. Today over 30% of kids are overweight or obese.