If you walk by a street you will see a bunch of kids sitting together on a bench but will be occupied on their phones watching some video and enjoying not knowing the name of the other kid right beside. This is what the world has evolved into now a two-dimension happiness. Gone are the days when we used to wait for the evening after finishing homework and rush down to play all sorts of made-up games with our friends.
Physical activity like sports is known to be beneficial for the holistic growth and development of children.1 New research shows that team sports may have additional effects in childhood that help enhance a kid’s brain. It was seen that children who played team sports like football or volleyball performed well on tests of “executive function” – like the ability to think and organize, good recall of details, decision making, and increased focus in comparison to kids who did not play sports or played individual sports. Dr Alison Brooks professor of orthopedics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison commented in a journal “There is scientific data that suggests playing a team sport like soccer improves executive function skills which are important life skills for all”.2
A study conducted in the Netherlands which was led by Lu Yang, a graduate medical student at the University Medical Center, Groningen published in the journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed data from 2006 to 2017 of almost 900 school-going children and assessed two age groups from 5 to 6 years and then again at 10 to 11 years. Data was analyzed and it was seen that the average level of physical activity in early life had no significant impact on the executive function at 11 years of age, but there was an exception that children who took part in team sports at ages 10 and 11 had better executive function in comparison with children who took part in individual sports. The researcher noted that participating in team sports puts the child under high cognitive demand due to the unreliability of interactions with team members and opponents hence players must promptly and vigorously respond improving the executive function. De Waelle et al also found similar observation that young females who took part in basketball, volleyball, soccer, korfball, or hockey had better executive functions than those in self-paced sports.3
Zeng et al4 notified that reduced sedentary time and more physical activity levels showed better executive function in children aged 6 to 12 years.
Brooks indicated to an American Academy of Pediatrics report in 2019 that found benefits of playing team sports in children like better self-esteem and relationship with compeers, reduced anxiety and depression, good bone health, healthy hearts, decreased risk of obesity, and better cognitive and academic performance. However, in today’s world, the importance of sports and teamwork is fading. There is also an increase in pressure to professionalize youth sports, making participation less inviting. By creating obstacles to entry and sustaining sports participation, we may be denying children an opportunity to develop their full potential.
So, kid's it’s time to bend it like Beckham and score the goal!
Reference:
- Chaput JP, Willumsen J, Bull F, et al. 2020 WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children and adolescents aged 5-17 years: summary of the evidence. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020;17(1):141. doi:10.1186/s12966-020-01037-z
- Lu Yang et al, Daily Physical Activity, Sports Participation, and Executive Function in Children, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.49879
- De Waelle S, Laureys F, Lenoir M, Bennett SJ, Deconinck FJA. Children involved in team sports show superior executive function compared to their peers involved in self-paced sports. Children (Basel). 2021;8(4):264. doi:10.3390/children8040264
- Zeng X, Cai L, Wong SH, et al. Association of sedentary time and physical activity with executive function among children. Acad Pediatr. 2021;21(1):63-69. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2020.02.027
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