[url]http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/29/youth.boxing.pediatrics/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6[/url] "In a new policy statement published today in the journal Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with the Canadian Paediatric Society, is recommending that doctors "vigorously oppose boxing for any child or adolescent" under the age of 19 because of the risk of concussions and other injuries, and instead steer kids toward non-collision sports." "The pediatricians based their recommendation, in part, on the number of boxing injuries recorded by U.S. and Canadian health officials. In 2003, for instance, there were roughly 14 boxing-related hospital visits for every 1,000 people between the ages of 12 and 34 who participate in the sport, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The main concern is serious head injuries among kids and teens. Young boxers have been known to suffer concussions, just like the pros, but the data on head injuries is scarce, LeBlanc says. The limited government records in the U.S. suggest that the rate of head injuries among 12- to 17-year-olds, as well as older boxers, is about 3 for every 1,000 participants."
If this policy will be implemented the consequence will be simple: no more boxing champions from USA. Neither amateur nor professionals
agreed with flatnose. a bunch of pussies america is quickly becoming. they might as well get rid of all contact sports. more kids die from football a year than they do amateur boxing and thats a known fact.
Where do you draw the line, I have 3 friends that are Pediatricians, and I hang out with and play soccer with regularly...... They are actually pretty adamant (being against and supporting the article above) about younger kids (Pee Wee's) Playing contact sports, or participating in Combat Sports that don't provide adequate safeguards to prevent them from obtaining/sustaining an injury that may impair them permanently as they are still developing.
3 of 1000? That's nothing. I hate all of the stupid organizations that act like kids are so fragile. We've been doing it for years and everyone looks fine to me. What do they think this will do to the sport of boxing? America's Olympic team?
The sad thing is, in the beginning of the article, it shows a youth who has been turned around from violence and obesity by using boxing as a positive outlet: (Health.com) -- Steven Galeano was a problem child. He couldn't stay out of fights and was "off the hook," his father Edwin recalls. But then Steven decided he wanted to start boxing, like his brothers. For the last four years, he has been venting his anger and frustration on the heavy bag at John's Boxing Gym, in the Bronx, New York, rather than on other neighborhood kids. "I [learned] how to control myself," Steven says. "If I have something on my mind, a little stress, I just take it out on the bag." Along the way, he and his trainers also noticed that he has talent. He's now a ranked 12-year-old boxer in the U.S. and proud -- "so far" -- of what he's accomplished.
