M00044A

This is Mandy (and Ella) ...

Mandy works for the YMCA and one of her job roles is to run regular fitness classes for adolescents.

Adolescents are prone to the same types of sporting injuries as adults, however, the risk of hospitalisations required as a result of these injuries is more common. For example, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there were 58,500 people who were hospitalised for an injury sustained while playing sport in 2016-17.

For the 15-24 age bracket (as shown in the graph below), there were:

Exercise and other forms of physical activity are enormously beneficial to adolescents, as well as other age groups. However, teenagers are also undergoing some major changes which may impact upon participation and enjoyment.

The main changes they are undergoing can be divided into three broad categories, cross-overs of the items within these categories are common as they are sometimes interrelated: