Impact of Outdoor Play on Obesity

When children are allowed to play outdoors at school playground equipment, they are allowed to let their imaginations run wild by looking at the scenic beauty of the nature surrounding them. But if we look at the current scenario, we can find that an average of 12.6 minutes is spent outdoors in the physical activity concerning the 1970s when 50% of the time was devoted to this.

There are many reasons for this change in behavior. One of them is the fear which parents feel in an unsafe environment. This is evident from statistical data taken from the neighborhoods of the UK, which indicated a gradual drop in the number of students who walked to school alone. This is because the children are forbidden to walk with strangers, which restricts their freedom significantly.

Other factors that are involved in this include the type of food a child gets nearby, the society's assumption about the legal environment and safety, the layout of the city and transportation modes, ideas which the children get from the media environment they look at. The most prominent factor that prevents children from moving outdoors is the use of technology by friends with which they can easily text them. Thus the reason to go out for meeting them is wholly eliminated, making them lazy and lethargic. Though the indoor games are considered to be safer concerning the above factors, it has a negative impact when we think of the psychological, social, and physical well being of a child.

Opting for indoor activities such as playing video games rather than outdoor activities is the primary reason behind obesity. Among the various factors contributing to obesity, the cultural and legal considerations are considered to be the most prominent. Once people can realize the degree to which the development of a child is restricted, they will start adopting ways of sending them out to play as well as learn from nature.

Though there are creative indoor games, they can never contribute to the physical well being of a person when compared with outdoor sports. It leads to obesity, which ultimately results in other health issues. So it is necessary to train the children to opt for outdoor activities by keeping them away from the latest technology devices such as mobile phones and limited access to video games. They should be taught to stay safe but never restricted to move out and play. It will widen their creativity and keep them active and avoid all the chances of obesity from which most of the people suffer today. 

The root lies in changing the lifestyle habits only, as treatments at a later stage will not be very impactful. used playground equipment

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