Beyond Physical Education: School-Based Physical Activity Programming

There is an abundance of support to provide daily physical education in our schools. First Lady Michelle Obama is leading a national initiative called “Let’s Move” to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. One of the initiatives in “Let’s Move” is to increase physical activity (Let’s Move!) In fact, Healthy People 2020 has objectives to increase the portion of the America’s private and public schools that require daily physical education (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2011). There is also a national initiative, the FIT Kids Act of

First, physical activity in school would help students to improve their rate of academic learning. Children who are physically active would perform, retain, absorb and pay attention better at school and home, than students who are out of shape. ‘A study, conducted by Bryan Mc Cullick, a kinesiology professor at the University of Georgia, examined all 50 of the United States and found six states where elementary schools followed recommended physical education at the middle school level, and no states had strong enough regulations at the high school level.” This

Due to a variety of factors – from increased time in school to long hours of watching TV – many young people spend little time exercising. In addition, as budget cuts force schools to drop programs, PE is all too often the first to go. Although the recommended amount of exercise for children is reasonably small – under 30 minutes a day – most schools provide virtually no opportunity for physical activity. Providing even a short “exercise break” could help kids get in shape; according to Science Daily, “Research results show that 30 minutes of exercise hard enough to produce a sweat is enough to turn the tide on an unhealthy body mass index” (University of Copenhagen). Raising the physical education requirements in America schools gives kids an opportunity to exercise without having to set aside extra time in their day. Just as academic subjects like math, science, and reading are core components of education, so also can physical fitness be taught through PE programs. Raising healthy kids is certainly a primary goal of the school system, and requiring even a scant 30 minutes a day of physical activity in schools could be the key to cracking the problem of childhood

Dale, D., Corbin, C.B., & Dale, K.S. (2000). Restricting opportunities to be active during school time: Do children compensate by increasing physical activity levels after school? Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71,

Limited Physical Education: According to data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), in 2011 only 51.8 % of high school students were enrolled in physical education classes, and only 28.4% attended physical education class daily (7). Also, it is found that as student go on to a higher grade, their participation in physical activity goes on decreasing due to increased burden of studies. In higher grades, it becomes difficult for students to manage their time between school, assignments and outdoor activities(7). In US, the current problem is that 37% students do not participate in vigorous physical

Schools are considered child’s second home and in the past, the schools used to provide good amount of time for physical activities. Nowadays, schools are cutting hours from PE classes and recesses time and diverting this time for study related in-class sedentary activities which in turn result in children not getting the needed physical activities (daily, more than or at least 60 minutes of moderate level physical activity) recommended for their age group.

Children between the ages of five to eleven have shown a decrease in the amount of physical activity they achieve per day which is a concern. As Participation states, “Our activity habits develop at a young age and can influence health later in life; therefore it is important to develop healthy habits at a young age,” (Participation, 2013). Sadly, “Over two-thirds (77%) of children age[s] 5 to 12 are considered insufficiently active… Over two-thirds (68%) of children age[s] 5 to 12 who suffer from a disease or disability are physically inactive,” (Saskatchewan in motion, 2012). These percentages show that a change must

Kirk Disrude, a volunteer for the American Heart Association, stated this about a child’s physical education, “Ensuring that quality physical education is implemented across our country is a lifesaving measure for the youth of our country. Now is the time to invest in physical education. We need to improve both health and (the) well-being of our youth and their overall cognitive functioning (SOURCE #2).” This quote should stand out to us as a nation. Major issues in this nation include cancer, drugs, violence, pollution, global warming, and conflicts with other nations, but one of the hottest problems that sticks out in the United States is known as obesity. Obesity is defined as someone who is overweight. This is not the only problem with obesity. From 1971 to 2011, the obesity in children has tripled and that concerns parents as that is the number one health concern to them. For that reason, kids see themselves with a negative body and have low self-esteem.(SOURCE #6). Kids also become obese by not acquiring the exercise they need because many schools do not offer the classes or at home. Only 3.8% of elementary schools, 7.9% of middle schools, and 2.1% of high school offer a physical education class. In addition to this, 22% of the United States schools do not offer a physical education class at all.(SOURCE #2) Those numbers should not that be low. The schools should not be shooting down physical education instead schools should encourage its students to go out and play for the full hour. Even at home, 61.5% of kids between the ages of nine through thirteen do not participate in any physical activity with an organization and 22.6% of them do not play in any organization as school is not in session (SOURCE#7). Many benefits of exercising or doing a physical activity include decreasing the chance of having type two diabetes, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and having stronger muscles and bones (SOURCE #1). The rate of obesity for kids has risen the past couple of years; however, that can change when children should and need to receive at least one hour of exercise a day every day.

Significance of the problem: There are many students who go home from school and have sedentary activities that fill their free time. Adolescents end up spending more time in front of the television or computer which activities lead to increases in snacking and less physical activity which leads to increasing obesity rates (Koukourikos 2013). This cycle can continue throughout life. By introducing students to important concepts in physical fitness and giving these students the opportunity to have success can help these students to understand healthy concepts that will help them for the rest of their life. By getting students physically active in physical education classes, students will be able to break the cycle of inactivity, sedentary activities, and snacking which can lead to obesity.

Physical activity in school used to be a big part of school, but as time marched on physical activity became less and less important to school boards even some schools went as far as removing physical education completely. Today it is required schools have physical education, but as childhood obesity rates have shown that is not enough. Childhood obesity has skyrocketed lately and it has shown to have an effect on children academically as well as their health. With children spending a huge portion of their childhood in school it gives school a great opportunity to help children stay healthy as well as get an education. “A research project called PAAC with 24 elementary schools showed that adding sessions of physical activity to a school curriculum could have long term benefits both academic and health.” “One school took a survey of children playing active video games and traditional recess, it showed that the children who played the active video games showed an improvement in math scores.” “Among 5,316 students in grades K through fifth grade, the frequency and duration of P.E. class were positively associated with standardized test performance among girls but not boys.” “When comparing students in randomly selected classrooms that offered one 10 minute energizer physical activity break daily for twelve weeks with those in classrooms that did not, the energizers group was more active and exhibited a higher frequency of on task behaviors.” “A developmental study examined that when students were assigned to either sit or walk around before a test showed that fourth grade students who were active outperformed the ones who sat.” “There is myriad research that proves students need adequate amounts of physical activity throughout the school day not only to prevent obesity, but has also shown that it help boost their academic performance.” “In some cases more time in physical education leads to improved grades and improvement in standardized test scores.” “Statewide studies

With childhood obesity becoming an epidemic in America, we need methods to help stop obesity in children such as physical activities. Physical activities are not only to help prevent obesity; it can also help students improve on their academics. “Physical education helps the brain function; exercise increases the blood flow within the body and increases the blood volume in regions of the brain associated with memory formation” (Kovar, Susan K at el. Elementary Classroom Teachers as Movement Educators. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.). Children spend many hours of their week inside a classroom, there are activities and lessons teachers can do to help their students become more active. “Physical education and movement are important

In middle school today physical education is being looked upon as an elective class that is not very important. Many school districts around america have decided to completely abolish or cut down time of physical education, and also classes like music and art. For many years, kids in America began to lose motivation in participating in physical education classes. Lack of physical activity in adolescents has resulted in an increase of childhood obesity, and rules such as No Child Left Behind, which I will speak briefly on later, does not help this issue. With evidence proving that physical activity improves academic performance, we should necessary steps to make sure that it is taken seriously. With lack of efforts put into making sure that physical fitness is important at a young age, research shows that this mission is failing tremendously in some ways. Middle school students in America, being at a critical age for developing these healthy habits, should take physical fitness much more seriously and learn more about it at a young age due to massive obesity rate, and lack of motivation in students.

Across the nation, fundamental subjects such as mathematics, science, and history are mandatory in the education system starting from the elementary level. These subjects are taught in aiding students understanding about the world they live in. However, subjects instructed in schools, particularly physical education is viewed as unnecessary. Physical education is unquestionably required in order to create well prepared students ready to face the working field in the future. In order to achieve this, administrators must stress the importance of physical activity within the goals of physical education core programs. By doing this, physical activity can show improvement in the students’ health, academic performance, self-esteem and mental health.

ABSTRACT It’s a well-known fact that physical activity and being healthy leads to a positive lifestyle. There have been numerous debates about the relationship between physical activity and a child’s academic achievement. In 1947 to 2009, 59 studies were used for the “comprehensive, quantitative synthesis of literature” (pg. 521) for data analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed, a positive relationship between physical activity on student’s academics and “cognitive outcomes.” (pg.521) Many other factors affected the relationship and other methods to improve student’s academics and school policy. Introduction Physical education is no longer an important topic in elementary schools compared to other subjects such as math, science or language arts which have resulted in physical education being cut and replaced with more instructional time. Physical education is limited in the educational system due to legislative pushing towards more academic testing, which means additional instructional time and little time for physical activities. Children are recommended 30-60 minutes of physical activity per day, but some kids only receive physical activity during school hours and after school children are not as active which has resulted in sedentary activity and an increase in childhood obesity. Obesity and health-related issues have increased among children who have led to numerous research studies on the effects of physical activity and academic performance in children.

Our lives are very busy with many activities to the point where we neglect our health. Over time the neglect results in various diseases and illnesses. In order to avoid this from happening, we need to make physical activity part of our lifestyle from an early age. Physical activity has many benefits while many young people of the future are still in school. According to the CDC, Center for Disease Control regular physical activity helps build strong muscles. (CDC) It helps reduce the chance of obesity and other diseases and helps improve an individual’s mood and overall wellbeing (CDC Physical Activity Facts). Most students get their physical activity through school PE classes. These types of exercise are done for a short time and not enough for the recommended 30 to 45 minutes for most students according to the CDC. (CDC) Physical Activity is an essential part of our lives and should be part of everyone’s daily routine.