Kids, Teens and Bad Data
How heavy is a kids bicycle? Their schoolbag? Their skis? Do you expect them to be able to pick these things up?
For every scientifically backed and verified health fact, there seem to be least 2 incorrect or misleading but wider spread falsehoods. One of the particularly damaging ones we hear often is that kids and teens under the age of 16-18 shouldn’t lift weights. This often comes from a place of well-meaning concern or parental worry but is there a scientific basis for this commonly held concern? (The short answer is no.)
There are two potential origins for this untruth. One is data from Victorian workhouses. Probably nothing to do with the forced labour, malnutrition, beatings and neglect…
The other is the theory that damage could potentially occur to the growth plates around joints in the growing skeletons of kids. Notice the word theory in the last sentence - there is no data or research which proves this out. In fact, just the opposite, there have been studies which found no evidence of damage from weightlifting or strength and conditioning in children “Strength training programs for preadolescents and adolescents can be safe and effective if proper techniques and safety precautions are followed.”
Essentially, supervision is key. It’s the same story with adults, incorrectly lifting weights which are beyond your current level of technique and strength will increase injury risk, doesn’t matter whether you are 7 or 70. In fact the British journal of sports medicine has found that strength training in kids positively enhances bone development in younger children. This is why its so important for kids and teens to learn technique from an early age so that they not only understand the virtue of moving well before moving heavy but so that they can be safe and effective in their training now and for the rest of their life.
More and more young teens are discovering the weights room at their high school or community gym by themselves or with friends and deciding into the trap of outdoing each other in lifts they haven’t come close to mastering through coaching. Or worse, they never set foot inside a gym until they hit their late 20’s and realise they need to do something about their level of activity now they are sedentary in the workplace.
Driving the point home even further, a study of injury rates in sports among adolescents found that there were 0.0017 injuries per 100 hours of training for weightlifting, compared to 6.2 for football. 3487% increase in injury risk from a commonplace sport on a field.
One of the reasons this widespread misunderstanding is so damaging is because we are seeing consistent rises in childhood obesity, inactivity, mental health decline, among others across the health data of our country and the world. The last thing our kids need is another reason not to develop a positive relationship with activity, learning what their bodies are capable of and having fun with others learning in a non-academic environment.
For kids who don’t naturally excel or fit in with the handful of sports they get access to in schools, strength and conditioning can be a real saviour. If you are a bigger or smaller kid who isn’t suited to football you might just write off sport and activity without realising you are great at gymnastics or destined to deadlift.
“Youth—athletes and nonathletes alike—can successfully and safely improve their strength and overall health by participating in a well-supervised program. Trained fitness professionals play an essential role in ensuring proper technique, form, progression of exercises, and safety in this age group.” Sports Health. 2009 May