Chris Romano M.A.

The idea that lifting weights will stunt a child’s growth is actually a myth that for some reason started and spread after a mid 1900s Chinese study to find out why child laborers on a mine in a remote region of China were on average signifigently shorter than their peers. The hypothesis was that it was due to carrying heavy loads out of the mines. However, the technology at the time could not confirm that as the cause, and the study was deemed inconclusive because they couldn’t tell if the cause was in fact the loads or if it was due to malnourishment due to the remote area in China, and all the time spent in the mines. Fast forward to 1999, Dr Avery Faigenbaum relooked at the issue this time studying a group of pre-pubescent children participating in resistance training vs a control group (Faigenbaum et al. 1999). Using modern technology )I believe he used MRIs) he found that the bone density was actually thicker in the trained group vs the control group, with no damage or negative impact on growth plates. Several hundred follow up studies have been done in the close to 25 years since and have all confirmed Faigenbaum’s findings. Resistance training (which includes weight training) causes bone density increases with no risk to growth plates. As such, even the American Association of Pediatrics as well as many other orgs such as National Strength & Conditioning Association and National Academy of Sports Medicine all encourage youth resistance training under qualified supervision. Links to a few recent scientific papers & position statements supporting the benefits to resistance training for youth (and debunking the stunting growth myth) This on shows the cognitive benefits caused by resistance training in youth athletes :

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