Doctors caution teens from taking to weightlifting

GURGAON: In the past few months, gymnasiums in the city are attracting an increasing number of youngsters below the age of 18, with some of them entertaining kids as young as 13 years of age.
However, health experts say that the worrying thing is that most of these gyms do not regulate the exercises that the children are taking up, which can prove dangerous.This is especially true of weightlifting.
Dr Yash Fauzdar, a resident of Sector 54, recommends teenagers to keep away from gyms in the first place. Dr Fauzdar said, "Young people should take part in outdoor games like basketball, lawn tennis, football, swimming or activities like dancing, aerobics instead of confining themselves to working indoors using machines."
For youngsters who insist on gymming nevertheless, Dr Fauzdar has these suggestions. He said that young girls should stay away from weightlifting as "their physiology doesn't encourage bulky structure," which this form of exercise can lead to. As for the boys he recommends to stay away from weightlifting till the age of 18 and up to 5 kg weights till the age of 21. "It affects their posture, flexibility and growth," said Dr Fauzdar.
While fitness consultant Rakhi of Gold Gym also recommends less than 5kg weight for kids under the age of 18, some places like Gym and Tonic allow weight training for kids as young as 15 years old and light weight training in seated postures for kids above the age of 14.
Sidharth Taneja, a physical education teacher in one of city's schools, said, "In schools, we ensure kids exercise to build up their stamina and not their muscle mass. They should try weightlifting only under professional supervision."
Around 15 children in the age group of 13-16 visit the Gold Gym in Gurgaon daily, while both Gym and Tonic %in DLF IV and HUDA Gymkhana in Sector 29 see around 10 children in this age group every day.