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Push for Phys Ed
A new study makes a strong case that physical education may
be the single best strategy for curbing the nation's growing
child obesity problem--at least among girls. In the first study
to evaluate the effect of P.E. programs on kindergartners and
first-graders, researchers found that increasing P.E. time by
one hour per week could lead to a significant decline in body
mass index, a measure of body fat, among girls.
by Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2004
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Physical
education class has long suffered from an image problem.
Children often deem jumping jacks and chin-ups boring or goofy;
parents wonder if the time would be better spent on reading
skills.
But a new study makes a strong case that physical education may
be the single best strategy for curbing the nation's growing
child obesity problem — at least among girls. In the first study
to evaluate the effect of P.E. programs on kindergartners and
first-graders, researchers found that increasing P.E. time by
one hour per week could lead to a significant decline in body
mass index, a measure of body fat, among girls. They projected
that providing five hours of P.E. per week to kindergartners —
close to the recommended amount — would produce a 43% reduction
in the prevalence of girls that age who are overweight. About
10% of kindergarten girls are overweight now, but that would
decline to about 5.8% with at least five hours of P.E. per week.
The same effect on body mass index was not observed in boys,
possibly because more boys are active at that age and a larger
percentage of 5- and 6-year-old girls are sedentary. The effects
of P.E. on boys' weight might be observed at later ages,
suggested Rand Corp. researchers who conducted the study.
Wide variations in P.E. time were found among schools
participating in the study, with kindergartners averaging only
57 minutes per week of P.E. and first-graders receiving about 65
minutes per week.
"What is exciting about this study is that P.E. works for a
large number of children," said Nancy Chockley, president of the
National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, a
Washington, D.C., nonprofit group that funded the study.
"Helping these kids manage their weight from an early age is so
important."
The research was conducted from U.S. Department of Education
data as part of a broader, long-term study of 11,192 children
from 1,000 public and private schools who entered kindergarten
in 1998. Results from the study are published in three medical
journals; the P.E. arm of the study appears in the September
issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
P.E. has become a low priority in many schools as administrators
struggle to raise test scores and meet minimum standards for
academic achievement. But schools are one of the few places
where child obesity can be addressed on a large scale, Chockley
says. According to the federal government, the prevalence of
obesity among children has doubled since 1980, and it has
tripled in teens. More than 15% of children ages 6 to 19 were
overweight in 2000.
"Schools are clearly burdened, and we can't leave [the obesity
problem] all to the schools," she says. "But schools are where
the children are, and they have to be part of the solution."
The study also examined whether obesity affects behavior and
academic performance. Kindergarten girls who are overweight were
found to be significantly more likely to have behavior problems
such as anxiety, low self-esteem and acting out. Overweight
children were also more likely to score lower on reading and
math tests.
But more research is needed to determine whether obesity affects
school performance and behavior or whether other factors are at
work, says Ashlesha Datar, an associate economist at Rand and
lead author of the studies. "Our research suggests it's the
quality of the home environment that is the most important
predictor of school outcomes," she says.
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