How to Help Your Child Lose Weight With Sports

Are you looking for solutions to help your child lose weight? If so, you aren’t alone. According to the UK’s National Health Service, at the present time, over 20% of ten and eleven-year-olds are obese, and an additional 14% are overweight. This means that over one-third of children in the UK would benefit from a programme to lose weight.

Here are a few ways that sports can help your child lose weight safely.

Exercise as play

One of the best things about sports is that they are fun to play. Getting up and running around a pitch or a court is much more fun than an afternoon of calisthenics. If you want to help your overweight child lose weight, and enjoy doing it, then sport can be the perfect solution.

Healthychildren.org says that to get your child to lose weight by being more active, “help your child find a sport that she enjoys. The more she enjoys the activity, the more likely she will be to continue it. Get the entire family involved. It is a great way to spend time together.”

Fitness as routine

Routine is another benefit of sport in helping a child to lose weight. When taught correctly, sport can show the child how to develop a standardised stretching routine, an aerobic activity habit, and to find joy in developing stamina.

As The Mayo Clinic explains, “If you want to get your child started on lifelong fitness, consider signing them up for children’s sports and other kid-friendly physical activities.”

Healthy eating

Helping an overweight child to lose weight often involves an overhaul of their eating habits. Getting your child interested in sports is a great way to encourage healthy eating in a non-confrontational way.

Active bodies need good fuel and good fuel involves appropriate eating choices. If your kid loves sweets, sugary drinks, or other less-healthy choices, then it is helpful to get them to understand that success in sport requires, amongst other things, thinking carefully about what they are taking in.

But, Children’s Health cautions, “There is no 'one-size-fits-all' plan when it comes to nutrition. Individual nutrient needs vary by sport, type, and intensity of the activity, age, body size, goals, and training volume. Generally speaking, the more intense the activity and the more hours you train, the higher your carbohydrate and overall calorie needs will be.”

But having a conversation about food, and linking it to their love of sport, you can help your child lose weight safely.

Immersive environment

One of the easiest ways to implement this type of lifestyle change is to put your child into an immersive program, like a summer sports camp. This type of camp can foster a love of the sport, encouraging exercise as play. An immersive summer sports camp can help jump-start a fitness routine in a safe and healthy way. And the right summer sports camp can help break unhealthy eating habits. These elements, combined, make a summer sports camp an ideal way to help a child lose weight.

Looking for an English language sports camp for your children? Exsportise has got you covered!