Schools
are skipping P.E.
Lack
of activity said to play obesity role
WASHINGTON
-- Missing from the schedule of many students this year is one class that used
to be a staple: physical education. From North Carolina to California, physical
education classes have been squeezed out of the school day, a trend that
parallels a national increase in childhood obesity. In
1991, 4 in 10 high school students took gym classes daily; 10 years later, the
proportion was barely one-third. In 1980, just 5 percent of school-age children
were severely overweight; 20 years later, the number jumped to 15 percent. Few
would argue that the one trend is completely responsible for the other, but a
lack of physical activity, in school or out, is a significant contributor to
obesity. But
faced with shrinking budgets and growing demands for improved academic
performance on standardized tests, mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind
Act, many school systems see physical education as a course they can no longer
afford. "It's
a terrible, terrible decision," said Anne Bryant, executive director of the
National School Boards Association. "Do you cut math and reading, or do you
cut P.E.? . . . There's a lot more to this thing we call learning than simply
test scores." Other
factors contribute to the obesity epidemic, including school lunches loaded with
fat and the consumption of junk food on and off campus. But
officials increasingly point to the loss of physical education classes as a
culprit. Among
the agencies that have begun to focus on the problem is the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Howell Wechsler, a health scientist in the CDC's
Division of Adolescent and School Health, said society should take advantage of
the time children are in school to teach them "the skills and attitudes
needed to embrace a physically active lifestyle." The
need for in-school exercise was underscored in the results of a recent national
survey by the CDC that suggested that more than 3 out of 5, or 61.5 percent, of
9- to 13-year-olds participate in no organized physical activities outside
school. More than 1 in 5, or 22.6 percent, engage in no physical activity in
their free time. "Schools
are not going to be able on their own to reverse this obesity epidemic,"
Wechsler acknowledged. "But they're an important part of the puzzle." The
CDC, the American Heart Association, and the National Association for Sports and
Physical Education are among the many organizations that recommend daily
physical education from kindergarten through 12th grade. Physical activity
offers clear short- and long-term health benefits. Most health specialists also
say that children who exercise regularly perform better academically. Illinois
is the only state to require daily physical education from kindergarten through
12th grade. Even there, gym classes are not a sure thing. A recent survey
estimated that fewer than 10 percent of the state's elementary schools comply
with the law. Some
states require daily physical education in elementary school, but the
requirements in virtually all states decline as children age. Until recently,
students in most states had to take a year or two of physical education in high
school to graduate. In
Massachusetts, the state Board of Education abolished a requirement that
students get 90 minutes of physical education each week. Instead, the state
requires students in all grades to take physical education classes, but does not
specify the amount of time. It also lets districts define what constitutes
physical education. Team sports, such as football or volleyball, count toward
the requirement, according to the state Department of Education. About
17.7 percent of Massachusetts students in grades 9-12 took physical education
classes daily, compared with 32.2 percent nationally, according to 2001 data
gathered by Action For Healthy Kids, a national group seeking to boost students'
nutrition and physical activity in school. Minnesota
recently eliminated physical education as a graduation requirement, and a new
Florida law allows high school students to graduate in three years by skipping
physical education and some electives. Roughly
one-third of all high schools give students another out: If they participate in
band, cheerleading, school sports teams, or similar activities, they are exempt
from physical education requirements. In
California, elementary schools must offer an average of 20 minutes of physical
education per day. Middle and high schools must provide an average of 40 minutes
per day, and high school students must take physical education for two years to
graduate. But even California's relatively tough requirements have produced
disappointing results. Only 24 percent of the state's fifth-, seventh- and
ninth-graders met minimal physical fitness standards last year. Dianne
Wilson-Graham, who directs physical education in California, pointed out that
the state does not enforce its requirements. Anand
Vaishnav of the Globe staff contributed to this report. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company. |