Benefits of Judo exercise on children’s health.
Judo is a great form of exercise; in this post we shall look at some of the evidence that Judo Exercise is good for your child.
Studies have been completed that show that exercise like Judo, when done as children, provides residual benefits into adulthood in areas like bone density and the prevention of osteoporosis. Exercise is also shown to reduce obesity rates, reducing the risks of heart disease etc. Of course regular exercise needs to be included alongside a healthy diet. Exercise is also shown to improve self-esteem in children. Exercise is a prescribed treatment for depression also.
Judo can provide a variety of forms of exercise. A long low intensity workout providing aerobic benefits. Short intense workouts building anaerobic benefits. The physicality of Judo will cause increased metabolic rate and muscle growth. Of course if your child is carrying excess weight, the exercise will help tackle this problem.
Some clubs deliver sessions that are specifically geared towards physical exercise and physical conditioning. These will often have much longer “warm-ups” and also include body weight based strength exercises, such as carrying partners up and down the training hall, etc.
So as a form of exercise alone, you can expect to see some great benefits for your child. These do not include the benefits attributed to Judo. Judo has also been attributed with providing improved self-seteem and self-control. Better social development and ability to deal with physical confrontations.
References:
http://www.jbmronline.org/doi/full/10.1359/jbmr.1998.13.3.500?cookieSet=1
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/112/6/e447
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7789345
http://grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/index.php?mode2=detail&origin=ibids_references&therow=263816
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14974029
Sekulic, D., Krstulovic, S., Katic, R., & Ostijc, L. (2006). Judo Training is More Effective for Fitness development than Recreational Sports for 7 year old Boys. Pediatric Exercise. 18: 329-338. -> from http://www.coachingjudo.com owner Bob Challis, thanks.