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Outdoor recreation and adventure activities lead to positive health outcomes for children

This is an excerpt from Outdoor Adventure Education by Alan Ewert,Jim Sibthorp.

The original values commonly associated with outdoor recreation and adventure activities, such as personal challenge, self-identity, teamwork, image, and setting (Ewert et al., 2010), have expanded to include health and wellness issues. More specifically, there is a growing aware-ness that outdoor activities can alleviate many health-related problems, including stress, obesity, imbalance, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Godbey, 2009). Some positive effects of outdoor activity on health disorders are listed in table 12.4.

Associated with the values related to health benefits is the need for public policy to consider the importance of providing space and resources for people to engage in outdoor recreation and adventure-based opportunities. Although much of the attention devoted to public outdoor recreation resources is directed to national parks and forests, a study by Roper indicated that only 32 percent and 28 percent of Americans have visited a national park or national forest, respectively. Thus, the opportunity to provide settings that allow for enhanced individual health through outdoor recreation and adventure will increasingly lie in the provision of municipal and regional locations. For example, the National Association of State Park Directors report that state parks play an important role in the recreation lives of a significant number of citizens (Godbey, 2009).

More Excerpts From Outdoor Adventure Education

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