Team on Three...1, 2, 3, TEAM!

[Ally Peebles]

As an avid sports participant and fan, I can confidently say sports captivate and engulf much of American’s culture. Top professional athletes are the epitome of the perfect health specimen, especially athletes of team sports like basketball, football, soccer, etc. But how does that translate to teens today – a generation suffering from an obesity epidemic?

 

It might be a no brainer but according to an article today in CNN, team sports, specifically, are more beneficial health-wise to adolescents than individual activities, like walking or biking. The study, cited from Dartmouth College, also took into account physical education classes required by most high schools and found these classes had little positive effect on the weight of students.  

 

So being social (on a team) and physical activity go hand-in-hand for reducing the chances of overweight teens. Ah, finally some clarity on how to stop this epidemic – but easier said than done. Getting more teens to participate in team sports may seem like a mammoth task, but health conscious schools and states can look to revamp the physical education and sports system, encouraging more participants from varsity level to club sports, so our next generation is more fit than the ones past.