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Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

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Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#41

Post by zzzeek »

eYrKEC2 wrote: post #20
zzzeek wrote: post #5

less anxious / depressed kids get to do more sports in the first place. kids without "the right attitude" or a lack of innate ability are routinely excluded from sports, as im sure many of us here have experienced.

I coach multiple rec-level soccer teams in my kids ages. I am ruthlessly fair about play time on the field. You may not get to play center midfielder, but you will get the same amount of time. Some of my children are naturally good at soccer and some aren't. Doesn't matter. I don't play favorites with them or any other kids on my soccer team. I started coaching soccer for my kids, because one of my more naturally-gif…

> Some of my children are naturally good at soccer and some aren't. Doesn't matter. I don't play favorites with them or any other kids on my soccer team.

in our town we've met some coaches like you and a lot of others who are not like you. sports are still 90% a popularity contest in my current observation (read my comment later in this thread)

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#42

Post by localhost »

I wonder if enhanced operation of the lymphatic system might be causal to better mental health outcomes? The lymphatic system doesn't have a "pump", so it relies on muscle contraction to drive circulation. So more movement/exercise drives more lymphatic activity which may lead to better outcomes in people, especially if mental disorders are correlated with buildup of waste materials in the brain.

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#43

Post by [deleted] »

hanniabu wrote: post #3
delichon wrote: post #2

The role of brain health in mental illness is commonly discounted, but so consistently found in studies. I got roasted here for recommending psychiatrist Mary Edes' book on improving mental health with dietary changes, but the benefits of the approach are clear. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/27/1227062... I've resolved most of my diabetes type 2 with diet, and nobody should be surprised that this…

Your gut microbiome plays a huge part in brain health and mental illness. That's likely why improving your diet improved your mental clarity and emotional stability.

[deleted]

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#44

Post by lambdaba »

localhost wrote: post #42

I wonder if enhanced operation of the lymphatic system might be causal to better mental health outcomes? The lymphatic system doesn't have a "pump", so it relies on muscle contraction to drive circulation. So more movement/exercise drives more lymphatic activity which may lead to better outcomes in people, especially if mental disorders are correlated with buildup of waste materials in the brain.

Well, the brain is a heavily vascularized organ. Proper sleep and exercise are both crucial for cleaning up waste products, and supplying nutrients and good blood flow.

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#45

Post by delichon »

delichon wrote: post #2

The role of brain health in mental illness is commonly discounted, but so consistently found in studies. I got roasted here for recommending psychiatrist Mary Edes' book on improving mental health with dietary changes, but the benefits of the approach are clear. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/27/1227062... I've resolved most of my diabetes type 2 with diet, and nobody should be surprised that this…

Oops, that's nutritional psychiatrist Georgia Ede. I confused her with another low carb physician and author, Mary Eades.

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#46

Post by noah91734 »

storf45 wrote: post #38
noah91734 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A poor home life increases chances of mental illness and decreases chances that someone will drive you to practice. That you need to be driven at all to exercise is a huge part of the reason why exercise and fitness rates are so low in our youth. Our grandparents and great grandparents walked miles to go to school five days a week, and we've built our cities such that this is impossible or dangerous. We now live in…

Doesn't 'home life' depend on the parent's emphasis on physical activity, sports, or general fitness? I.e. if the parents put a higher value on other things, it seems likely that the children will follow their lead.

A poor home life in any sense of the term should not matter unless it means the parents are outright abusive. I did not play outside as a kid because my parents emphasized it. I did it because there were kids right outside and playing with them was more fun than anything I could do inside. If one of my parents had to drive me anywhere for me to be physically active, I would very rarely have gone anywhere or done anything at all.

Parents chaperoning their kids every hour of every day _is not normal_ and never has been, except in the US.

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#47

Post by noah91734 »

slothtrop wrote: post #35
noah91734 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A poor home life increases chances of mental illness and decreases chances that someone will drive you to practice. That you need to be driven at all to exercise is a huge part of the reason why exercise and fitness rates are so low in our youth. Our grandparents and great grandparents walked miles to go to school five days a week, and we've built our cities such that this is impossible or dangerous. We now live in…

Intramurals are one option, often favored by immigrant parents who place more importance on academics, to exercise at school and by extension (usually) fairly close to home (see: volleyball, basketball, wrestling). Aside from some sports that require lots of travel around the city (like hockey, soccer) there are normally quite a few that tend to stay fixed, except for tournaments.

You are missing the point entirely. Only in America is "exercise" something you must go out of your way to do. Walking (miles) is exercise. Playing is exercise. Our kids do neither of these things independently of household income because we've built our cities to make walking impossible and dangerous, and because we've now normalized locking our kids away indoors and shoving an iPad in their face because we convinced ourselves that they will get kidnapped or run over by a car if they are ever outside and unsupervised.

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#48

Post by AlexandrB »

tomcar288 wrote: post #13
delichon wrote: post #2

The role of brain health in mental illness is commonly discounted, but so consistently found in studies. I got roasted here for recommending psychiatrist Mary Edes' book on improving mental health with dietary changes, but the benefits of the approach are clear. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/27/1227062... I've resolved most of my diabetes type 2 with diet, and nobody should be surprised that this…

This! Absolutely. It's as if people think the brain isn't even an organ in the body and that it's completely disconnected from the rest of the body. After doing a ton of research and listening to many talks on metabolic syndrome and all the diseases caused by our modern diets, I've realized just how impactful diet can be on the body, the brain and the many modern diseases caused by our modern diets and lifestyle.

> It's as if people think the brain isn't even an organ in the body and that it's completely disconnected from the rest of the body.

This happens a lot in a different context when people talk about AI and try to reduce human intelligence and creativity to just brain function.

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#49

Post by canucker2016 »

somenameforme wrote: post #25
knallfrosch wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of looking for excuses, find a way. You don't have to play tennis, climbing a tree will do.

Or even just buying a few fun and dirt cheap physical toys - hula hoop, jump rope, etc. Staying in minimally decent physical shape is super easy and cheap - even more so for a child.

but look at this from the kid's perspective.

What are their parents, siblings, and/or friends doing in their spare time? Are they going out for walks or bike rides? Or are they glued to some media/social media device?

Sure, there are kids who will get physical activity regardless of nearby influences, but many will decide to emulate the behaviour of those around them.

Re: Physical fitness and risk of mental disorders in children and adolescents

#50

Post by [deleted] »

canucker2016 wrote: post #36
mattmaroon wrote: post #33

This seems like a very easy one to point out that they may be getting the cause and effect backward.

They've done the analysis: meta-analysis of random controlled trials , see https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-075847 "Exercise is an effective treatment for depression, with walking or jogging, yoga, and strength training more effective than other exercises, particularly when intense. Yoga and strength training were well tolerated compared with other treatments. Exercise appeared equally effective for people wi…

[deleted]
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