ACHI Director of Analytics Mike Motley said, “Overweight or obese children are more likely to be overweight or obese as adults, which can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and many other health problems.”  In the world obesity and being overweight is a problem for not only adults but also for high school students.  In the 2021 school year, almost 26% of students had a BMI that classified them as obese, which was a 3% increase from the previous year. We should be trying to help these kids with obesity as well as their mental health.  

One way students can stay healthy physically, mentally, and socially is to play a sport, playing any sport will improve these aspects of your life.  Right now I play three sports Football, Basketball, and Lacrosse.  This can be a lot however, I have learned many life lessons, made new friends and relationships, as well as being more active.  One lesson is how to budget my time as I would be getting home sometimes at 8 with things to do such as homework and studying.  Another lesson is how to work with other people to accomplish a goal, this can be used in many jobs and will use for the rest of my life.  Some ways that sports can help with your mental health are helping your sleep, improving your confidence, and reducing stress.  This is proved by a report from the Public Health Agency saying “regular participation in sport and being active can also promote good mental health. This includes improving your mood, enhancing your sense of well-being, reducing anxiety, combating negative emotions, and protecting against depression.”  This is evidence that students should be active and play sports. 

One way schools can play a part in helping students stay healthy is by splitting half the gym year into a strength and conditioning/lifting class that is required to take.  Proof of this is that a study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine says that “people who engaged in one hour of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity a week had a 15 percent lower mortality risk. Mortality risk was 27 percent lower for those who did three hours a week.”  Another study by them, states that people who did 30-60 minutes of strength training a week had a 10 to 20 percent drop in the risk of mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.  This proves that schools should require strength training to improve the health of students.

This is what schools across the world should be doing to help their students stay healthy for the rest of their lives.  Strength training and sports should be a part of every student's day in school.