The Benefits of Physically Active Kids

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SECTION 2: Physical Activity Resources Are Most Appropriately and Effectively Administered in Schools

FIGURE 7: Obese Girls More Likely to Cause Behavioral Problems in the Classroom. Teachers and parents report that obese girls are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems than non-obese girls.

Teacher-reported externalizing problem behavior: Obese girls 100% more likely
Teacher-reported internalizing problem behavior: Obese girls 60% more likely
Parent-reported internalizing problem behavior: Obese girls 67% more likely

Derived from: Childhood Overweight and Teacher-and Parent-Reported Behavior Problems: Evidence from a Prospective Study of Kindergartners³

In-school activity programs improve both the education and health of children.

"Physical activity should be part of the school day for both its physical health and cognitive benefits."²

When children engage in regular physical activity at school, their ability to focus, study and learn increases. In addition, their classroom behavior and performance improves.

Perhaps most importantly, susceptibility to becoming overweight and obese is reduced, decreasing the propensity to develop ECD and reducing the costs of treating children for preventable lifestyle diseases.

"Comprehensive school health programs represent an efficient means to improve both the health and education of Americans." This recommendation from the Journal of School Health emphasizes the need for more effective physical activity and health programs in schools.⁹

The rate of academic learning per unit of class time is enhanced in physically active students so that lack of curricular time is not a valid reason for denying children a daily program of quality physical education.⁶

"Increased curricular time spent on physical education, particularly fitness-oriented activity, facilitates academic progress despite a reduction in academic instruction time."¹

Schools are Most Effective in Reaching Children

Children are not physically active at home and, in many instances, are not allowed out of the house after school for safety reasons. As a result, in-school programs are the only way to ensure that all children have access to regular physical activity.

"School-based programs . . . represent an important channel for behavioral change because of near-universal enrollment and the potential to affect behaviors of children that track (persist) into adolescence and adulthood."¹⁹

Organizations that recommend regular PE in schools include private foundations, health researchers, and Federal Agencies such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Heart Association (AHA), and National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE).

Schools provide the most effective setting for regular, monitored physical activity. In-school resources offer significant academic, health, and social benefits:

School physical activity programs positively impact academic performance⁹
School exercise programs ensure that all children have access to regular physical activity, a critical component in developing strong hearts and bones, improving health, and reducing the risks for ECD¹⁹
Schools are the most effective, lowest cost, and easiest venue to deliver an understanding of the need for physical activity to children and their adult advocates.²⁰

Schools are in an unmatched position to simultaneously influence large numbers of children and their parents on the importance of physical activity and to have a pivotal role in eliminating the devastating health impacts of inactivity.

Impact is Greater When At-Risk Children Participate with Healthy Children

All children, despite various levels of risk for CVD, benefit from classroom-based activity. No advantage exists to separating the "at risk" students from "healthy" students for physical activity. Both the healthy and the at risk groups show significant risk reduction and benefit from equal improvement in health knowledge and increased physical activity.²⁰

The notion that children with identifiable risk factors should be removed from their class group to be given a special activity program is misplaced. This action diminishes the impact to the at-risk children and deprives the apparently healthy class members of valuable activity.

Keeping class groups together also avoids further stigmatizing overweight children by singling them out for "special treatment," is easier to implement, and uses fewer resources.

Reach Kids While They Are Still Receptive to Influence

Children in the Tween age group (8 to 12) are forming habits, ideas, attitudes, and perspectives that will stay with them for life. At these ages, they are also in danger of exposure to early forms of chronic diseases which may continue with them into adulthood. If current trends continue, this generation of American children will grow up to be the most obese adults in U.S. history.²¹ The earlier in life action is taken to combat these disease risks, especially through adopting an active lifestyle, the less the risk of the diseases arising or continuing in children as adults.

"Twenty years after leaving primary school, the prevalence of physical activity among the experimental [regular exercise] students is still much higher than in an age-matched sample of the general population. This discovery emphasizes the importance of developing positive health habits at an early stage in a child's development. School boards should be strongly encouraged to introduce daily quality programs of physical education beginning in the youngest grades of primary school."⁶

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