While many factors contribute to hiking score to one's health, the most often mentioned is one's food.  You can't outrun poor nutrition, which is why nutrition is so crucial. However, there is growing consensus among experts and scientific data that the primary cause of the obesity epidemic in the United States is not sugar or extra calories, but rather our lack of physical exercise.

Paradoxically, Americans adore athletic events. Our sports programs include Little League baseball and Pee-Wee football. You can't go anywhere without seeing a football camp.  We are serious sports fans and watch all levels of competition, from high school to college and even the pros. Football and golf are both shown. ESPN has expanded from one channel to many, begun producing original documentaries, and even hosted an annual awards ceremony. The Super Bowl consistently ranks as the most-watched television event of the year.

Why isn't it more active if a nation has such a devoted sports fan base? How did you go from being a player to only watching sports? There are a lot of possible responses, but I'll limit my discussion to the typical passage from our childhood pastimes to our adult hobbies, emphasizing the part played by recreational sports.

We played out of the blue as children. Playing tag, jogging, hiking, swimming (in a pool, lake, ocean, or even a murky mud hole), and so on. All kinds of things can be enjoyed by children. Fun and pure delight.

Moving on to the next level involves ball skills such as kicking, catching, throwing, etc. Fun, at least in our childish thinking, is defined as taking pleasure in doing something. The rules of games that children invent are frequently only loosely based on those they observe in sports.

The following step is the establishment of formal sports leagues. These have regulations and results that accompany them. In particular, maintaining a hiking score results in victories and defeats. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that, the natural pleasure we derive from jogging or leaping becomes muddled with the pursuit of "winning" in these activities. A powerful kick, a fantastic swing, and a smooth stroke are now more important than just playing (i.e., having fun). In the end, winning becomes the only conclusion for some people.

Being victorious is perfectly OK. Our children (and ourselves) should learn from us the importance of never settling for mediocrity. But how much will it cost? Although words are easy to use when describing the lessons learned in athletics, deeds convey a far stronger message.

1. In most cases, the one who benefits the most from a situation ends up hurting the most as a result of it. I find it hard to believe that the girls' squad who scored 161 points in that game actually managed to hone any of their basketball abilities. The squad that managed to score just two points must have been very determined to ensure that it never happened again.

2. Tell me what parents' roles were, are, and should be in their children's athletic development. So many adults put so much pressure on their children because they want to experience life through their eyes. A little bit of pressure aids concentration, but too much is debilitating.  We've all seen it, and we've all certainly been on the receiving end of it.

When parents put too much pressure on their children, it's usually because they want them to succeed academically or, even better, to make it big in their chosen field. This is quite improbable. Six percent of high school football players actually make it to the college level. Among college athletes, just 1.6% make it to the NFL, and even fewer make it through the first four seasons.

A little league baseball player's battle with cancer was the subject of another contentious sports tale. Usually, in the championship game, he would bat second, behind their top player. The opposing team's coach opted to walk their top player in a tight game so that their pitcher could strike out the child with cancer and secure the victory. Tears were streaming down his face when, as expected, they hit him. He was aware that they intended to hit him out, and that his team would be eliminated from the championship game if he failed to get a hit.

There was, unsurprisingly, an outcry about how inhumane this was right away. The head coach of the other side was branded a "bully" for picking on a cancer patient once again. To voice their disgust, a large number of people contacted sports radio programs. Several people voiced their disapproval of his coaching style and asked "What was he supposed to do?" in support of the coach.

Therefore, the coach's role was unclear. Give up trying to win? Should he advise his pitcher to "go easy" on the sick child? For everyone participating in that game, what kind of message is that sending? Imagine the narrative and the lesson if they faced the top player in the game and he hit another home run, causing them to lose. Where does that leave their own team's tireless efforts?  What if they attempted to eliminate the next player after walking the top scorer and the youngster with cancer? Would it genuinely alleviate people's feelings? Can you imagine how that would make the little child who has cancer feel? Thanks to the boy, we don't need to speculate; we know for sure.

The boy's opinion—the one that received the least amount of attention—turned out to be the most consequential. He expressed his intention to work hard in practice so that he would be the player they would have to work around next year when asked about his feelings. A strong, strong reaction from a little guy.

Sports should motivate you to improve yourself, in my opinion, and this is the most crucial lesson. Resulting from internal factors rather than outside influences like parents. That's why it's not so terrible to lose. Winning teaches you very little while losing teaches you a lot.

What if the result didn't matter all that much? Imagine instead that winning is about being polite and losing is about growing. It would be considerably simpler to have fun, focus on the here and now, and play. Do you remember how we began this blog by discussing childhood play? Restoring that "kid mentality" would ensure that we would continue playing sports indefinitely.

 Regardless of your performance, you would participate in your grandfather's basketball league every week. Even if you consistently had the lowest score in your bowling league, you would still remain a member. If you could afford it, you would shave as many holes as possible from the golf course.

This is the most exciting aspect while we're kids, but as we grow older, we tend to forget about it. Until we lose track of it, we don't even realize we're feeling it. When people play sports, they inevitably interact with one another. We can always count on sports to provide us with an opportunity to spend time with our friends. Even though they're your rivals for the day on the course, spending time with pals is always fun.

Sports have a significant and vital personal component, but the most important thing isn't character development per se, but rather, fostering a sense of community.