Although it may not be at the top of your priority list, maintaining physical fitness as a teenager is crucial for both your short-term and long-term health.
In the short term, working out regularly can help teens fight both anxiety and depression. It also lowers stress and sometimes improves academic performance, raising confidence as well as energy levels. Exercising increases your muscle and bone strength, and can even release endorphins— the brain chemicals produced to relieve stress and pain.
Being physically fit as a teen yields further benefits as you age. Physical fitness helps maintain your cardiac health and can significantly lower your risk for diabetes. These benefits may greatly improve your quality of life in the future, allowing you to continue to move and perform physical activities as an elderly person.
When asked, high school student and soccer participant Avery Dowling responded, “Exercising has always been a crucial part of my daily routine. Before I started working out, I wasn’t engaged in a healthy lifestyle. Now, I walk, run, or lift weights whenever possible.”
Working out does not have to be a daunting task, nor a chore that you dread attempting; exercise should make you feel better, not worse. All teens should feel encouraged to start valuing their physical health and maintain an exercise routine today.
Sources:
“Exercise & Fitness.” Safe Teens, safeteens.org/health-wellness/nutrition-exercise/exercise-fitness/.
“Exercise and Teenagers.” Exercise and Teenagers - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center, www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P01602.
“Fitness and Your 13- to 18-Year-Old (for Parents) - Nemours Kidshealth.” Edited by Mary L. Gavin, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation, June 2019, kidshealth.org/en/parents/fitness-13-18.html.
About the Author:
Abbie Skordos is a rising sophomore student. She found joy in writing during her English class this year. Abbie has been a dancer for the past twelve years and enjoys the outdoors more than anything else. She also likes to draw and bake.
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