In America today, there is a serious epidemic of childhood obesity. Across the country, children are getting heavier and heavier. The two main causes for this epidemic are clear: poor diet and a lack of exercise.

The responsibility for a child’s diet primarily lies with the child’s parents, but there is plenty that can be done to increase a child’s amount of exercise. One of the best ways to get children to exercise is to involve them in recreational sports, such as basketball. Basketball is an excellent game for children for many reasons. It is easy to learn and fun to play, it is popular among youth, and it involves a lot of cardiovascular activity that will help keep waistlines trim and children healthy.

Basketball is not a difficult game to learn. At its simplest level, the entire premise of the game involves putting a ball through a hoop positioned ten feet in the air. Of course, from that simple premise can be built many complex skills and schemes, but whether one is discussing a zone trapping defense or a crossover dribble, the objective is still the same: putting the ball through the hoop. The game’s simplicity appeals to young children who may otherwise be too impatient to sit through more complex instructions.

Basketball is also a great recreational sport for children because it is extremely popular in the United States. Children taking the court may never play in the National Basketball Association, but that does not preclude them from aping LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony or any of the other great superstars of the modern day, just as children twenty years ago were perfecting the way that Michael Jordan used to stick out his tongue in concentration when he was playing. Basketball’s appeal is broad and easy to understand, and children are more likely to take to a game that is popular across several demographics. It’s hard to imagine children flocking to a cribbage tournament, but basketball courts at elementary school recess periods are always full.

The most important reason that basketball is such a great activity for kids, though, is that it is an excellent cardiovascular exercise. Kids do not realize it when they’re playing a game, but basketball involves a lot of running, which is a great workout for the heart, and burns a lot of calories. In a regulation game of basketball, a player can run as much as three miles or more, depending on how fast the game is moving. Getting a child to run three miles, even one who enjoys running, is not usually an easy thing to do, but getting them to play a game of basketball is rarely difficult. Show most American kids a basketball, and they’ll be out on the court in no time, channeling their inner Blake Griffin.

Basketball is not the end-all, be-all way to cure the childhood obesity epidemic, but it’s certainly a start. If more kids would pick up basketballs instead of Big Macs, there’s no telling how healthy America’s children could become.

Author Bio: I write for TIR Massage Stone about hot stone massage and massage stone therapy including hot and cold applications.

Category: Sports
Keywords: basketball,cardiovascular activity,recreational sport