An ideal, low impact exercise for any age group, swimming is a good choice for overweight children and adolescents.
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Rob and Jamie set their alarms for
6:15
each morning so they can get to the YMCA in time for 30 minutes of lap swimming. Rob then drops Jamie off at school on his way to work.
The daily father-son exercise session started two years ago when Rob was forced to seek an alternative to running while recovering from a knee injury. His injury has long since healed, but he now prefers swimming. An overweight 14-year-old, Jamie was reluctant when first invited to come along to the pool but is now hooked on the routine. They enjoy the time together and have a low-key competition for how many laps each can finish in a 30-minute period.
An ideal, low-impact exercise for any age group, swimming is often recommended for older adults with aching joints or for athletes recovering from leg injuries. It’s also a good choice for overweight children and adolescents.
Jamie’s excess weight put him at a disadvantage in team sports and made him self conscious in activities such as running. As a result, he spent increasingly more time in front of the TV and computer–perpetuating the cycle of inactivity and weight gain.
While junk food gets much of the attention, physical inactivity is a major reason for the obesity epidemic among American children. For children who don’t take readily to sports or exercise, there are numerous activities today requiring no greater exertion than thumb movements on a remote control.
Some children are shy about participating in team sports. Others lack basic skills or are too hyper to listen to coaching instructions. Finding the right activity for the individual child is always a challenge, and a parent’s efforts to motivate may well be counter-productive.
Jamie appreciated having a parent at his side while he was developing self-confidence, and the swimming pool was the perfect environment for him. He had taken to the water at an early age–splashing in the bath tub and playing with the hose in the back yard.
Strenuous But Relaxing
Many overweight persons find they exercise more gracefully and confidently in the water than on land. Body fat provides buoyancy as the swimmer develops the muscles needed for propulsion through the water.
Rob and Jamie found swimming a great way to reduce stress and energize themselves for the day. During winter months, the pool offered a warm welcome; in the summer, the water was cooling and refreshing.
Swimming is a full-body workout, toning and strengthening more muscles than any other exercise, with the possible exception of cross country skiing, and burning 500 to 650 calories an hour. It’s also an excellent way to develop cardiovascular fitness and stamina.
The major disadvantage of swimming–the need to have access to a pool or other body of water–is for some an advantage. Swimming workouts must usually be scheduled, and some individuals need that kind of discipline to keep them going with an exercise program.
In terms of weight loss, some researchers have questioned the relative benefits of swimming. Even though swimming burns about 25 percent more calories than running in a strenuous 30 minute workout, some studies have found that swimmers tend to lose less weight than bikers or walkers performing similar workouts. One theory is that the daily energy loss from cold water may stimulate the appetite as the body tries to maintain or increase the insulation provided by fat stores.
This phenomenon has not been proven, however, and appetite control is not an issue for a growing child or adolescent. A young person who eats a healthy diet while developing cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength and endurance will almost certainly reap long-term benefits in terms of weight, body composition and overall health.
Developing fitness in the pool requires an ability to swim for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Some persons may require swimming lessons; those who need to brush up their basic skills might find the breast stroke easier at first. With the exception of the side stroke, which is used to conserve energy, the strokes are roughly equivalent in their calorie expenditure.
Most beginners will feel winded at the end of a lap or two and require a few minutes of rest. The idea is to gradually increase the number of laps between rests and the total number of laps completed in 30 minutes.
When a swimmer can move continuously in the water for 30 minutes it’s time to start thinking about speed work–swimming a little faster than usual every fourth or fifth lap. As with any exercise program, personal goals and challenges are important ways of maintaining motivation and interest.
Although the risk of injury is much less with swimming than with other sports, there is another kind of danger. Even in a pool, no one should swim alone, and young children need attentive adult supervision at all times.
Running in the vicinity of a pool is always strictly prohibited, and diving should not be allowed unless the water is at least nine feet deep and there is a 25-foot clearance in front. About 800 Americans become paralyzed each year as a result of diving or falling head first into water.
In the open water of lakes, oceans and rivers, there are hazards associated with hypothermia, swift currents, rocks and tree branches. Even champion swimmers can be pulled down by rip currents, which often occur near piers or other fixed objects. Most drowning deaths occur to good swimmers who have friends in the vicinity but don’t take into account complications such as fatigue, cramps or unexpected currents.
With only a few basic safety precautions, a child who develops good swimming skills can look forward to a lifetime of pleasurable, relatively risk-free exercise that works virtually the entire body with minimal stress.
