A childhood filled with sports and the lost joy of activities

Exercise your body smartly

If the word "sports" makes you shrink back, try to recall when you first started feeling uncomfortable with the idea of ​​physical activity. If you go back to your childhood, you'll remember play activities, including vigorous sports and activities, where you didn't have the fear of sports you have now.

When you were a child, did you jump rope during recess or before class at school?

Have you ever done any of the following activities? Playing ball with children in your neighborhood, playing hide-and-seek across the street, riding a bicycle, rollerblading, swimming, or playing hopscotch or shuttlecock throwing?

Now, you might not even think about playing shuttlecock again, not even for a moment, but do you still enjoy riding a bicycle or swimming? If not, what happened that turned the joy of physical activity in your childhood into discomfort and avoidance of activity now?

To understand how you feel about exercise, let’s look at your personal development and the broader social environment you experienced in your childhood, but let’s start with the role that genetics might play.

Genes reloaded the gun with bullets.

Similar to dietary control, a person's level of physical activity may also be partly determined by genetics. One study showed that among three-month-old infants, those with lower activity levels (20% less) were more likely to be overweight later in life, while those with normal activity levels were less likely to be overweight. While activity levels may be related to learning during the first three months, it's also possible that some people are born with a natural inclination towards activity.

Other studies have demonstrated genetic differences in the frequency of mild physical activity among active individuals. While this type of activity is unlikely to significantly reduce weight, the aforementioned differences may explain a 100-700 calorie difference per day, making it easier for some fortunate individuals to regulate their weight. Like dietary control, genetic differences are also an important factor in whether you feel comfortable exercising. Of course, the environment may play an even more significant role in determining the amount of calories you burn through physical activity.

Environment pulls the trigger again

Even with a genetic predisposition to physical activity, truly engaging in physical activity requires an environment that allows or encourages it. Unfortunately, such environments are becoming increasingly rare. Elementary school students in California average only 15 minutes of organized physical activity per week, compared to the state's requirement of 100 minutes.

Even if your school offers a lot of physical education classes, whether you participate or try to avoid certain activities is another question. Many of your views on sports may have already been formed before you even start school. Just like eating, your parents play a crucial role in establishing your exercise habits when you are young.

Parents can exert direct influence, including encouraging, nagging, rewarding, and punishing their children's activities, but their indirect influence can be more important, such as setting a good example in physical activities, supporting and participating in those activities. Reflecting on your childhood, do you recall your relationship with your parents regarding activities? Were they supportive? If you participated in sports, did they encourage you, take you to practice, and talk about your competitions?

Children who are active are more likely to feel supported by their parents than children who are inactive. A study of children aged 4-7 found that children whose parents are active are six times more active than their peers whose parents are inactive. Unfortunately, most children's parents are not active. Less than 30% of parents of elementary school students exercise three days or more per week. If parents' behavior conveys the message that activity is uncomfortable or meaningless, then urging their children to exercise will be ineffective.

Mark is a prime example of a child who grew up to be an inactive adult. As a child, his father encouraged him to play outside, but his father was rarely active and almost never participated in any activities with him. Mark recalls that when he was six, he once asked his father to play softball with him. His father reluctantly agreed, but shortly after throwing the ball, his father found a neighbor's child to play with, apologized, and left.

When Mark was 11, his father persuaded him to sign up for Little League baseball. But after Mark agreed, his father thought it didn't matter. In high school, Mark volunteered for a clerk job to avoid gym class and remained inactive throughout his adolescence. Now, as a young adult, Mark has participated in several fitness events because he realized he needed to exercise to lose weight, but each time without success. He says, "Exercise is annoying. I don't like sweating, and it's really uncomfortable when I can't breathe and my muscles can't move the barbell."

The tyranny of the screen

How much time did you spend watching TV when you were a child? American children spend an average of 24 hours a week watching TV. In the five years between the ages of 12 and 17, they spend three of those years watching TV, videos or DVDs, or sitting still and focused on computers and video games.

A study involving 3rd and 4th grade students found that children who spent less time in front of screens had significantly lower body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio, and were also significantly less likely to eat while watching screens. The media's tendency to project unrealistic body images onto children and the countless food advertisements may increase children's food intake. Furthermore, it takes away time that could be used for activities.

Watching TV can lower your basal metabolic rate, reducing your calorie expenditure-that's its extra "reward." Some people don't like watching TV but might use that time for reading, homework, or any other passive activity. If children don't get much physical activity at school and spend most of their free time in front of screens, it's not surprising that they might struggle to lose weight as adults and dislike exercise.

Reflect on your childhood experiences with physical activities. Can you recall any experiences that shaped your current attitude towards sports?

Where does physical intelligence come from?

To make it easier to understand, I have discussed the formation of the three components of bodily intelligence separately. But in the real world, during your growth and development, these three components influence and interact with each other. Teasing and media images can increase a person's dissatisfaction with their body, leading to dieting and weight gain. This, in turn, makes it more difficult to engage in physical activity, which further increases body dissatisfaction... Thus, it can be a never-ending cycle, resulting in a continuous decline in bodily intelligence.

On the other hand, parents who support their children's activities can enhance their children's physical and intellectual development. This is because they encourage healthy eating habits without being overly controlling, they help their children understand that some of the images portrayed in the media are unrealistic, and they lead by example, encouraging and supporting their children's participation in sports and physical activities.

Review your answers to the questions posed in this chapter, and consider your childhood experiences based on the information provided. Think about the following questions:

Your parents' attitudes toward food and eating habits;

You were breastfed or bottle-fed as a baby;

Do your parents control your diet?

The influence of the media on your picky eating habits;

Is food used to regulate mood?

Do your parents have any dissatisfaction with your appearance or weight?

Negative comments your classmates or colleagues make about your appearance or weight;

When compared to their media image, are they dissatisfied with their appearance or weight?

Does the child lack parental role modeling and support in physical activities?

The effects of watching too much television on you.

If you identify the reasons that have shaped your current eating habits, body image, and exercise behaviors, you're on the path to restoring your bodily intelligence. Remember, the goal isn't to blame anyone. Even fairly apportioning responsibility doesn't solve the problem. Instead, we want to examine how your long-standing habits formed. Understanding this diminishes the mystery and effectiveness of habits, increasing our ability to change them and rebuild bodily intelligence. Let's begin with eating. The next chapter will first look at the reasons for eating-why do we eat?