Thaindian News

Washington, July 7 (IANS) Physical education teaches children about fitness and encourages them to adopt a healthy lifestyle, a study says.

A researcher in Tel Aviv University in Israel has come up with statistical evidence to show how participation in sports is also beneficial to a child’s cognitive, emotional and behavioural well-being.

Doctoral student Keren Shahar, working under Professor Tammie Ronen and Professor Michael Rosenbaum’s supervision, says that a survey of 649 children from poorer backgrounds showed how sporting activities helped them improve self-control and discipline.

“We set out to determine whether sports training would have a positive impact on these children by lowering aggression, and how this result can be achieved,” explains Shahar, according to a Tel Aviv statement.

It would be more effective than verbal therapy, she says, because while verbal therapy encourages children to control their behaviour, research indicates that it does not reduce negative emotions.

In 25 schools across Israel, Shahar and her fellow researchers analysed a 24-week-long after-school program based on sports.

Half the participants comprised a control group who did not receive sports instruction, and the other half were systematically introduced to a variety of sports for five hours a week.

Three times a week, students ranging from grades three to six played group sports such as basketball or soccer. Twice a week, they participated in martial arts, including judo and karate.

Her results demonstrated an improvement in traits relating to participants’ self-control, self-observation, problem-solving skills and delayed gratification - which ultimately led to a decrease in the incidence of aggression.

Only those children who exhibited higher levels of self-control also demonstrated the decline in aggression.

–Indo-Asian News service
st/am/vt