Obese Children Who Exercise Control Their Anger Better

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) found that 7- to 11-year old obese children showed far better anger management than kids with similar weight problems, but who were mostly sedentary and didn't practice any sports. The 208 children who participated in the survey followed, after school, aerobic exercise programs for 10 to 15 weeks, and their anger-related behaviors were measured using the Pediatric Anger Expression Scale.

"Exercise had a significant impact on anger expression in children. This finding indicates that aerobic exercise may be an effective strategy to help overweight kids reduce anger expression and aggressive behavior," says MCG School of Medicine clinical health psychologist, Dr. Catherine Davis. "I think if teachers could see that exercise helps kids control their behavior and get along, they would be the top proponents of physical activity for kids."

She says that heavier children have the tendency to either become bullies, or be bullied, and that both types of behavior forces them to develop a high level of aggressiveness, which they store inside, and then they find themselves unable to control it. By exercising daily, in a regular manner, they seem to be gaining more and more control of their behavior, while at the same time losing a few pounds.

Researchers at MCG-SM say that these finds apply to children in this age segment with no differences of gender, weight, socioeconomic status and other such factors. This means that this type of therapy, if you will, could be applied in any areas of the world, as health care experts work with all types of children, to achieve better anger management.

Another good piece of news that this research brings is that, by practicing sports, delinquency in children, cardiovascular diseases in adults and metabolic syndromes in adolescents can all be deterred. This means increased quality of life and a higher degree of self-esteem for those seeking to help themselves this way.