Physical activity is a must for the vast majority of people here in the United States. After all, physical activity is much of what keeps us healthy over the years, strengthening our bodies and even improving our mental states as well. Without physical activity, obesity becomes a concern – and one that has been growing here in the United States over the course of recent years. Without physical activity, we become sedentary and our bodies can begin to falter, both in small ways and larger ones as well.
Unfortunately, however, even as important as physical activity is people still do not get as much of it as they should be. This can be seen particularly clearly among the adult population here in the United States, as only around 5% of people who are over the age of 18 are moving even just for half an hour a day on a daily basis. And less than one half of all adults (around one third of them, to be more exact) are getting the recommended weekly amount of exercise. It’s no surprise, really, then, that only around one third of all adults in this country could be considered to be at a healthy weight.
And the current population of children is struggling to get up and moving as well. In fact, only about one third of children are moving around each and every day, although the American Heart Association recommends at least an hour of physical activity for all children who have currently surpassed the age of two. In many ways, this can be very much attributed to the rise of screen time, something that has become hugely harmful to children all over the country, as the average child now uses screens for as many as seven and a half hours in just one day. In fact, it has become such an issue that up to two thirds of all parents are not concerned over varying matters of screen time here in the United States.
Enrolling a child – or enrolling yourself, for that matter – in an MMA (mixed martial arts) class can be one way to change things up, one way to get moving. MMA has become quite popular in the United States, and so is likely to be more readily available than it has ever been before. In fact, the data shows that MMA and various other forms of martial arts like Tai Chi and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu garnered more than three and a half million participants in the year of 2016 alone. And in the year of 2017, martial arts participants participating in everything from MMA classes to Muay Thai kickboxing classes for the sheer purpose of physical fitness did so in droves, with the total number of such focused participants reaching very nearly two and a half million people by the time that all was said and done.
Aside from MMA and other such forms of martial arts found here in the United States, kickboxing classes and endeavors have also become particularly popular throughout this one country as well as in a large number of other places all throughout the world as well. As a matter of fact, nearly seven million people partook in kickboxing at least once over the course of the single year of 2016, let alone in any of the other years that have passed us by recently as well. For many people, sports like MMA and kickboxing have provided a focused and structured way not only to gain higher levels of physical fitness and weight loss, if such a thing is deemed to be necessary, but a concert way to improve overall discipline and even mental wellbeing as well.
Performing MMA on a regular basis can even help to improve one’s confidence quite significantly as well. Tai chi, for instance, can also help to improve confidence, particularly in the elderly people who participate in it on a regular basis. In fact, surveys have shown that more than half of this population find themselves with more confidence surrounding their bodies, in particular relation to their overall strength and sense of balance, both of which Tai Chi practice can improve.
