How Can Sports Improve Health?

Sports are organized physical activities and competitions. This is actually the main difference between sports and leisure, recreation or social activities. As a venue for physical competition, sports can develop healthy competition and drive. For instance, winning can develop confidence and losing can develop personal resilience.

There are many types of sports; the most common are contact sport, endurance sport and competition sport. Among the latter, motor sports are the most popular ones. The physical activity involved in these sports includes running, jumping, throwing, diving, lifting and competing. The International Olympic committee and other stakeholders have made it a point to include sports that specifically pertain to the physical condition of the athletes in their list of events.

Sports also provide the opportunity for social interaction. It has been found that participation in sports enhances human rights and social interaction. There have been many debates on the topic of sports and human rights. It has been argued that involvement in sports leads to healthy competition. It is a form of self-discipline that can be learned and applied in everyday situations.

The physical activity engaged in by athletes helps them improve their performance, build strength, improve their stamina and build good health. In most sports, participation requires skill and strategy as well as a level of endurance beyond the training and competition. These attributes make the sport a worthwhile pursuit and helps build good health and character.

Another area of debate on the topic of sports and health is the effect of sports on physical fitness. Some people argue that sports interfere with the development of sporting skills and cause inordinate exertion levels that can lead to negative effects such as injury, illness, low concentration and poor health. Others claim that sports help develop team spirit, leadership and competitive spirit and make the individual feel part of the team.

International sports are growing in popularity and there are an estimated million competitors around the world. The physical demands involved in international sports, especially athletics, can be quite different from that in domestic sports. In contrast to other physical activities, the physical demands in sports like cricket, golf, rugby and swimming are great. Cricket and swimming require total dedication and hard work from the participant. On the other hand, football players may use body conditioning and skills to score a winning goal and sprint towards the goal post.