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STUDY SUGGESTS SCHOOLS LACKING IN EXERCISE PROGRAMS FOR
CHILDREN U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Monday, February 10, 2003 America's young children may not be getting enough vigorous
physical
exercise through their schools' physical education
(PE)
programs, suggests the latest analysis by the National
Institute
of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care
and Youth Development.
Briefly, the third grade children in the study received an
average
of 25 minutes per week in school of moderate to vigorous activity. Experts
in the U.S. have recommend that young people should participate in physical activity
of
at least moderate intensity for 30 to 60 minutes each
day.
In addition, "Healthy People 2010", the Department of
Health and Human Services' (HHS) set of health objectives
for
Americans, seeks to increase the number of schools
requiring
daily PE for all students. Last June, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson
released
a report, "Physical Activity Fundamental to Preventing Disease
,"which estimated that 300,000 Americans die each year as a result of a sedentary lifestyle and poor
eating
habits. The current analysis, of school PE activities for third
graders
taking part in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care,
appears
in the February "Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine".
"Obesity and lack of physical fitness in our young children
may
set the stage for diabetes, heart disease, and other
serious
health problems later in life," said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of
the NICHD. "President Bush, Secretary Thompson and all of us in HHS are committed to
doing
more to promote active, healthier lifestyles, especially for our children.
This study provides important information for parents and school systems to take into
account
when devising physical education programs for
children in their districts." The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development
enrolled
just over 1,300 children at birth at 10 research sites throughout the United
States. The researchers conduct periodic observations and evaluations of many aspects of
the
children's lives as they progress from infancy through
adolescence.
The current analysis was conducted on
information gained from direct observations of the children
participating
in the study while they were in physical activity classes. The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development
is
not a survey of a representative sample of children in
the
United States. Rather, the investigators recruited a
geographically,
economically and ethnically diverse sample of children from across the United States.
The observations conducted in PE classes provided insight
into
the amount and types of PE programs offered to 814
third
graders at 648 U.S. schools across the country.
Observers tracked the activity of a child as he or she
participated
in school PE classes. The observers used the following categories to
describe the activities in each
class:
MANAGEMENT -- teachers' activities related to preparing the
children
for an activity, such as forming a line or moving from one location to
another. On average, children had 2.1 PE classes per week, totaling
68.7
minutes. Only 5.9 percent of the children had PE five
times
a week; 2.6 percent, four times a week; 16 percent,
three
times a week; 45.3 percent, twice a week; and 30.2
percent,
once a week. Of the average time children spent in
class,
10.4 minutes were spent in game play, 7 minutes on
management,
5 minutes on skills practice, 4.8 minutes on fitness, 4.6 minutes on
knowledge, and .7 minutes on other activities. For each class, students engaged in only about
4.8
minutes of vigorous physical activity, and 11.9 minutes
of
moderate to vigorous physical activity. The authors noted that PE programs vary greatly at the state and local level, with allotted time for classes ranging from 30 minutes per week to 150 minutes per week. Fears that increasing physical activity might have a negative impact on academic performance are unfounded, according to the authors. Earlier studies, published by others, had shown that increasing the length of time in PE classes and the intensity of physical activity in the classes did not have a detrimental effect on academic achievement. The study also reiterated findings by other researchers
that
boys spent a greater percentage of class time in moderate to vigorous
physical activity (38.3 percent) than did girls (35.6 percent). In addition to calling for more
vigorous
PE for all children, the authors also called for improvements in the
curriculum of PE classes to encourage
girls to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity.
The NICHD is part of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH),
the biomedical research arm of the federal government. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health
and
Human Services. The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and
after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues;
and
medical rehabilitation. NICHD publications, as well as
information
about the Institute, are available from the NICHD Web site, <http://www.nichd.nih.gov>,
or from the NICHD Clearinghouse, 1-800-370-2943; e-mail
NICHDClearinghouse@mail.nih.gov.
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