As seen increasingly on social media and due to societal influences, many young children—even those under 12—as well as elderly individuals are engaging in gym workouts and weightlifting. From a medical standpoint, is this advisable for growing children under 18, especially those under 12? What are the potential physical and developmental benefits or harms, and what do current pediatric and geriatric guidelines recommend regarding such activities?
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Informative 
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@Zahidabid i agree with your point and it depend on parents ethics and culture.
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Children, i. e. age <15 should follow only mild workouts for a particular time like may be for 1-2 hours.
Recently, 1 incident happen to my relative, 11 year old boy- evening he played badminton for >2 hours and after that he took push ups also. At night his upper abdomen seems to be swollen.
Came to rule out due to overactivity of muscles, strain occurred in the abdomen.
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I saw a kid of 6 weightlifting 7.5kgs at gym along doing having machine exercises and development of bones and muscles take time atleast till 15 yrs - i feel one should engage their kids in sports rather gym. Also i see 11 yr old at my gym doing the same.
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That is simply crazy!
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For children <18 years
- age appropriate strength training is safe and beneficial in the form of sports
- unsupervised or intense gym activity in young children can be harmful
- though heavy weightlifting or powerlifting should be avoided
In adults between 18 and 60 years of age
- strength training or gymming is beneficial as it increases muscle mass and improves bone density.
- proper exercise enhances metabolic rate and supports weight management
- it also improves mental health by reducing anxiety and depression.
- supports cardiovascular health and boots insulin sensitivity helpful in reducing diabetes.
For elderly >60 years
- regular exercise reduces the risk of falls and fractures by improving balance and bone density
- it improvs the quality of life and thus independence
- helps in management of chronic diseases like diabetes, arthritis, hypertension
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Physical activities are good but proper gymming and extensive weight lifting is not good for either younger population and senior population.
Muscle mould with time during our childhood years , so normal physical exercise like running, sport, push-ups are okay however extensive weight lifting and protein powder consumption can be harmful.
For older population when the muscle are more baggy and saggy, normal toning exercises like squats can help but exercise like weight lifting, dead lifts can be harmful since the ligaments and bones also tend to become weak with time
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