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[Letters] Improving teen health

Health is essential throughout our lives; it determines the direction and quality of our time here on earth. While many teens today eat unhealthy foods, the main cause of their health problems is not getting enough exercise. To prevent teens from being unhealthy, we must provide more recreational places where students can play and increase physical education time in schools.

In Korea, it is hard for us to find parks, whereas other countries such as Canada and the U.S. have plenty of land. There are many parks in America, where people are able to enjoy recreational activities.

From a geographic perspective, Korea is very small and is divided into two countries, North and South. Even the few places there are to play soccer and basketball are covered with sand. It is hard for balls to bounce on sand and also you cannot play after it rains.

As a result, students in Korea spend more time in Internet cafes rather than exercising their bodies playing sports. Therefore, Korea should focus on building more courts and fields for adolescents to play on.

We must realize school is not only a place for studying and learning, it is also place for learning how to maintain health and fitness. Korea has a myopic focus on class work and study time. There is no time for leisure or to do the things teenagers want to do. Also, parents force their children to study more by sending them to after school classes or tutors every day.

One difference between Canada and Korea is that Korea does not value PE time and thus has reduced physical education curriculum time to force students to focus even more on other subjects.

However, taking out physical education time will not positively influence student grades. In fact, it may lower them because PE classes relieve stress and improve mental sharpness and focus. Removing them is definitely them the wrong thing to do.

To conclude, it is our duty to take care of our teen’s health by making positive changes as quickly as possible so that they will not become obese. Teens should realize that just eating good food will not make them healthy; they need exercise as well.

Providing more recreational parks for students should reduce the number students who sit in chairs gaming. Also, increasing time for physical education in order to maintain student health while studying, would be a good way to show students how to balance school and learning.

Josh Lee,

student at Gyeonggi Suwon International School