While the required amount of physical activity differs based on the caloric intake and body type, sports can assist an individual to maintain a healthy weight. For people who want to maintain a huge amount of weight loss, high-intensity sports can be the best option while reasonably-intensive physical activity helps in realizing weight stability. Well-being of Muscles and Bones:

As previously mentioned, bone and muscle injuries are some of the most common health-related risks in sports participation. However, as an individual grows older, there is need for maintenance of the well-being of muscles and bones for proper body functioning. When an individual takes into consideration the necessary precaution measures, sports and physical activity becomes increasingly for muscles, bones, and joints health. Participation in sports provides people with the required elements to build the strength of muscles, bones, and joints.

Psychological Well-being:

For people with psychological depression and disorders, participation in sports is regarded as a form of mental therapy. This is because it can enhance a person's positive of positive body image and self dignity (Cohen par, 6). Through the involvement in sporting activities, individuals can also engage in positive social environments that enhance their psychological well-being. Participation also promotes psychological well-being be lessening the rate of cognitive decline due to aging and minimizing anxiety in adolescents.

Sports and Today's Most Pressing Health Issues:

One of the main reasons for increased encouragement for participation in sports is because of its impact on the most pressing health issues in today's society. While there are various health-related risks associated with sports and physical activity, sports can not only heal but also help and prevent some of the most pressing health issues. Actually, participation and sports has been used to prevent several health issues in today's society such as:

Heart Diseases and Cancer:

Coronary heart diseases and various types of cancer have developed to become some of the most pressing health issues in today's society mainly because of individual's lifestyles. However, sports and physical activity help in preventing the occurrence of these diseases by enhancing the cardio respiratory well-being of an individual. Sports and physical activity assist people regardless of their ages to maintain and enhance the well-being of their heart, blood vessels, and lungs. According to the findings of research, it's reported that approximately 40% of deaths related to coronary heart diseases are due to inadequate physical activity and increased blood pressure. Sports help in lessening the risk of coronary heart diseases by approximately 50% because it's vital in addressing all the physical issues associated with such diseases. Furthermore, recent research has discovered that sports minimizes the risk of colon cancer by an estimated 300% and significantly reduces breast cancer and lung and endometrial cancer.

Obesity:

One of the major and most pressing health concerns in the United States is the increase of obesity among people especially young people. The occurrence of this disease has continued to increase significantly among people because of their lifestyles. In many Western countries, obesity among the youth has increased rapidly in the past 10 years to become a major health issue. The increase in the number of overweight and obese people throughout the world is largely because of the reduced amount of physical activity and practice of a sport. Many people have lessened the amount of their household, occupational, and leisure time activities in combination with a hyper caloric diet (Kyrolainen et. al., p. 908).

The increase has also been coupled with the secular declines in various...

The other reason contributing to the increase in overweight and obesity is the changes in social environments that have decreased physical activity among people especially the youth. These changes strongly affect an individual's physical activity patterns because they no longer require high physical demands like walking and carrying loads.
According to recent survey, regular practice of sport together with an enhanced physical fitness significantly lessens the risk of obesity. The practice of a sport induces acute and chronic physiological responses that provoke structural and practical adaptations that enhance a person's physical fitness. Consequently, this helps in reducing several metabolic problems that may contribute to obesity and overweight such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease. Through an improved physical fitness through the lessening of the risk of obesity and metabolic problems, the regular practice of a sport improves a person's overall health.

Osteoarthritis:

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that commonly occurs among older people and is regarded as the most prevalent form of arthritis. In the United States osteoarthritis of the knee and osteoarthritis of the hip joint occurs to 6% and 3% of individuals over the age of 30. This disease is characterized by an ongoing loss of cartilage that is normally accompanied by growths that lessen joint motion and develops bone cysts that causes pain. Some of the risk factors associated with this disease include high body weight and abnormal joint anatomy. People suffering from osteoarthritis usually experience and complain of problems during walking and climbing stairs.

While recent research suggests that high-performance sports can increase the risk of osteoarthritis later in life, the regular practice of certain sport lessens the risk of this disease. Certain sports such as walking, skiing, and swimming have low risks for the future occurrence of osteoarthritis (Chambers & Cooper par, 5). Therefore, the moderate practice of a sport on a regular basis helps in lessening the risk of this disease in the future, which is a common disease among older people.

Conclusion:

Sport has continued to remain an important facet of society because of its role in uniting people and helping in the fight against various diseases. While certain sports especially high-performance activities can result in various injuries, the regular practice of a sport is vital in maintaining a healthy life.

Works Cited:

Bahr, Roald, and Lars Engebretsen. Sports Injury Prevention. Vol. 17. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print.

Chambers, Abigail E.L., and Grant Cooper. "The Role of Sports and Activity in Osteoarthritis." Arthritis MD - Trusted Arthritis MD - Arthritis Information from Doctors Who Care. Arthritis MD. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. .

Cohen, Bradley. "How Does Playing Sports Affect Your Health?" LIVESTRONG.COM - The Limitless Potential of You. Demand Media, Inc., 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. .

Gotlin, Robert S. Sports Injuries Guidebook. Illustrated ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.

Hutson, Michael A., and Cathy Speed. Sports Injuries. Illustrated ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Kyrolainen, Heikki, Matti Santtila, Bradley C. Nindl, and Tommi Vasankari. "Physical Fitness Profiles of Young Men." Sports Medicine 40.11 (2010): 907-20. Print.

"SPORT AND HEALTH - PREVENTING DISEASE AND PROMOTING HEALTH." Right To Play. Right To Play. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. .

Verhagen, Evert A.L.M., Maartje M. Van Stralen, and Willem Van Mechelen. "Behaviour, the Key Factor for Sports Injury Prevention." Sports Medicine 40.11 (2010): 899-906. Print.