That is right, you can now get gym equipment for your children. My immediate reaction was very negative as any weights used by children can affect their bone growth and it is well known in the fitness industry that you must be at the very least 16 years old before you start a gym equipment based exercise programme. However now that obesity in children is on the rise do our children have a choice? Are they going to be adding a regular fitness workout to their daily schedule?

Some of the Equipment

Air Walker Machine 

Weights Bench 

Bike 

Treadmill 

Rower 

A More Detailed Look

Looking at all these machines I have to confess that from a safety and exercise point of view they are all very good, with the exception of the children’s weight bench, which could cause damage. It may surprise some but the technique used on the bench is actually quite complex and whilst children’s learning capabilities are vast they would be unlikely to grasp this without using a bad technique. Parents are not always going to be qualified enough to show their children and teach them the correct technique. By using bad technique over a period of time with bones that are still growing, they could end up deforming their bones and could also create structural damage by tightening muscles in certain areas creating longer term problems e.g. bad backs and specific problems like lordosis (excessive arch in lower back – Beeble)

Whilst I feel that the remaining equipment is good with nice bright colours it lacks the one fundamental that is essential for the longevity of the product and that is it has to be fun. Although adults understand the consequences of not exercising the child does not and nor do they fully appreciate the benefits to themselves. I just cannot see many children having as much fun on a stationary exercise bike as they would on a real one that moves – and why use a treadmill when running outside and playing a sport is so much more fun?

Help for Disabled Children

There is however a situation where this type of equipment is an absolutely brilliant idea and that is for the many thousands of disabled children out there who need to exercise in order to have as fulfilled and "normal" a life as possible. The physically and mentally disabled have to work really hard to learn the most simplest movements and they will give themselves such a head start if they begin exercising as children. Children can pick up the movements so much more quickly but without kid-sized gym equipment they are going to have a tough time. I have spent some time exercising disabled children and there is a real shortage of exercise equipment for them and it’s equipment like this that will really help speed up the development process.

Exercise equipment that can be fun?

Surely there are some pieces of equipment created for children that are designed for not just exercise but for fun as well? Yes there are I have listed some of them below:

Bike Playstation 

Nintendo Wii 

Dance Dance Revolution/Grooove 

They all have a link with computers which have been held responsible for a lot of the obesity in our children. The bike is attached to the Sony Playstation and by peddling faster your on-screen character will move faster. It is good because you can link it to a lot of different games and you’re not stuck with the same one.

The Nintendo Wii requires body movement to replicate your characters on-screen movement, the jury is still out on this one. I have tried it myself and if you use full body movements it can be exhausting especially the Sports. However because the majority of movements are repetitive there is a real danger of an increase of RSI (repetitive strain injury – Beeble) if it is played for too long with no stretching afterwards.

Dance Dance Revolution is my favourite out of this list, not because I am especially good at dancing or the game itself but because it uses small safe movements that don’t put too much pressure on the child’s structure but the regular constant movement is brilliant for working their all important energy systems. This is the essential part of a child’s fitness regime, burning energy, creating a nice strong heart and respiratory system. Admittedly the actual machine costs a small fortune. However I was able to pick the game up for a playstation with a roll-up dance mat that really worked for a small fraction of the price of a real one.

Summary

We can blame many things for our children’s increasing obesity but at the end of the day it is parents who are in control of their upbringing and it’s parents who have to show an interest in a healthy lifestyle to help give their children the best chance for a full and healthy life. These games and equipment are good because they help the child find exercise fun. However none of these are better than playing a team sport, interacting with real people and having some real fun. Not all children are "sporty" types but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a healthy outdoor activity that they will like. There are many activities out there and it is down to the parents to find the time to spend with their children to encourage this.

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This entry was Posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 8:58 pm and is filed under Exercise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.