1: The Price of inactivity

2: Physical Activity improves quality of life

The article starts off with some staggering facts about the lack of students involved in physical education.  Concerns about budget, time and staffing are all considered to play major roles in the lack of PE offerings.  “According to the 2006 Shape of the Nation Report, a recent joint study conducted by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Heart Association (AHA), only 56 percent of high school students participate in physical education, and the percentage of schools requiring physical education in each grade progressively drops by grade level—from 50 percent in first through fifth grades to 5 percent in grade 12.”  The federal government states that students should participate in sixty minutes of physical activity per day.  In this report it states that not only does physical education develop physical ability and coordination, but it also prepares children for adulthood by contributing to the development of social skills.  It is incredible to find out that only 69% of US high schools mandate PE for graduation.  Illinois (where Naperville is located) mandates K-12 daily physical education courses.  “The goal of providing daily physical education to all K-12 students in the nation’s schools presents several challenges that are not easily overcome. If children’s health is a national priority, legislators, parents, teachers, school board members, and administrators must collectively work together to develop solutions that have the potential for success at the community level.”  Revised curriculum and lesson plans, budgetary issues, less time for other academic subjects, and staffing issues are all causes for PE classes to be eliminated.  Physical educators must make their program accountable and there must be return on the investment, such as data collection to go along with the course.  To promote physical education it states that teachers must be held accountable and do activities and lessons with a purpose.  Showing data collection will help to assess the PE programs and the students who are involved in them.  I am taking a page out of this articles book for my topic.  I am going to collect fitness test scores which will aid in student learning outcomes.  It will put accountability on me as the physical educator just as this article states.

The article starts with alarming facts about preventable diseases in young people.  It states that there is strong evidence in several severe illnesses linked to childhood obesity.  Some of the diseases include heart disease, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, menstrual irregularities, and high cholesterol.  It not only affects their health but also has psychological effects such as low self-esteem and depression.  These diseases and illnesses not only come from the lack of exercise but also from unhealthy eating habits.  “According to the results from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, only 35.8% of high school students, 44% of males and 28% of females met currently recommended levels of physical activity, that is, doing any kind of physical activity that increased their heart rate and made them breathe hard some of the time for a total of at least 60 minutes/day on five or more of the previous seven days (CDC, 2006b). In a nationally representative sample of children aged 9 – 13 years, findings from the Youth Media Campaign Longitudinal Survey indicated that 61.5% of children in this age group do not participate in any organized physical activity during non-school hours and 22.6% do not engage in any free-time physical activity” (CDC, 2003). The article also goes on to talk about exercising at least sixty minutes of moderate physical activity the majority of days of the week to prevent these diseases and illnesses.  Not only does physical education provide students with opportunities to be physically active, quality programs should also teach them the knowledge and behavioral skills that promote lifelong physical activity.  Students do not get this type of activity when they go home, thus the importance of keeping physical education in the classroom.  The article goes on to state that in the NCLB era, physical education is left off of this list.  Daily physical education has declined since 1990.  The article went on to talk about a Fitnessgram study that tested the students in schools.  The study looked at frequency of class meetings and their fitness scores.  This study is similar to the one I am going to administer to my students.  To my surprise the study for students that were in class five days a week performed worse than students who were in class greater than two days a week but less than five days a week.  “The results of the current study, in general, suggest that physical fitness levels of students enrolled in daily physical education programs are no better than the fitness levels of students enrolled in classes meeting less frequently. There is some indication; however, that students enrolled in classes meeting two days per week or less may be less fit than students having physical education classes more frequently”.  The lack of daily activity is detrimental to your mental and physical health.  Through the study in this article, it shows that physical activity is important to your health, but when it comes to fitness scores it is not necessarily going to improve. “Based on the results of the present study, it would be inappropriate to advocate for daily physical education on the basis that student fitness levels would be improved. It does appear, however, that students attending physical education classes meeting two days a week or less are slightly less fit than those attending classes more frequently. Clearly more research is needed to investigate the effect of frequency of class meetings on valued outcomes of physical education, including physical fitness”.  It was a surprise for me on the outcome of this research as I am an advocate of everyday physical activity and physical education. 

This article talks about the Naperville school district in Illinois.  “The school’s already robust daily P.E. program is specifically designed around the notion that physical activity enhances rather than detracts from children’s intellectual development. As the country confronts the dual challenge of childhood obesity and improving academic outcomes in our public schools, policymakers and educators can learn from Naperville’s approach, which treats fitness, health, wellness, and classroom learning as holistically interdependent”.  The article states that the district did a study as to why students were not achieving at grade level in certain subjects.  Daily PE is required in Illinois but they wanted to do another study to test whether exercise timed in close proximity to a subject in which a student was having troubles would have a positive impact on their progress.  “Exercise preps the brain for learning” was a statement made by Dr. John Ratey, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard who visited Naperville in 2004.  With this in mind the educators collected data on their experiment.  The studied showed that the students who took the fitness courses before their education class showed twice as much improvement as those who did not.  The school system implemented multiple programs and saw improvements in the students who chose to take part in the studies.  The study shows that building high quality PE programs are necessary both to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic and providing optimal learning environments.  Not only does PE and daily activity help students physically, but it helps them reach the top learning levels mentally.  “Exercise preps the brain for learning.” 

High-stakes testing combined with the notion that indoor and outdoor spontaneous play are a “waste of time” have contributed to the condition known as “play deprivation”.  This article defines the terms of play deprivation and explores the negative effects it has on children and adults.  One of the statements made about play is, “Play reduces stress in our lives and has been shown to increase children’s abilities to pay attention through unstructured physical play”.  This is very similar to the research article done by the Naperville School district.  “Play deprivation is the name given to the notion that not playing may deprive children of experiences that are regarded as developmentally essential and result in those affected being both biologically and socially disabled. Too little play experiences can lead to depression, feelings of hostility, aggression, and the loss of “the things that make us human beings “(p. 2, 2009).  The article expresses how recess and outdoor play are on the decline.  It explains how the lack of play relates to a smaller developing brain.  It also talks about how a lack of play can affect children.  The children who are deprived of outdoor play experience and demonstrate aggressive behaviors, depression, antisocial skills, and are at risk for becoming obese.  All of these traits can be expelled when a child is actively participating in some sort of play.  “Play is not a luxury but rather a crucial dynamic of healthy physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development at all age levels.” 

The article starts off with stating that going to PE class and recess is a win-win situation.  It states that physical activity improves’ kids fitness levels and lowers the risk of childhood obesity.  It also states that students who are physically active during the school day are often better able to concentrate on their work and often do better on standardized tests.  The article goes on to talk about the increasing educational demands and tough financial times of schools thus, recess and physical education being eliminated.  The article talks about a study that spends more school time drilling for the standardized tests would improve the scores; when actually more time performing physical activity helps improve scores.  The study found “Recess can improve students' attention and concentration and ability to stay on task, increased time in PE classes can help children's attention and concentration and achievement test scores,  short physical activity breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes in the classroom can improve attention span, classroom behavior and achievement tests scores, and participation in sports teams and physical activity clubs, often organized by the school and run outside of the regular day, can improve grade point average, school attachment, educational aspirations and the likelihood of graduation.”  This study is an example of physical activity enhancing the standardized tests and a benefit of not only health for these students but for mental well-being as well.  The students perform better in school and in fitness levels when participating in recess and PE.

This article displays multiple reasons on why physical activity is important not only for growth but to prevent disease.  The article talks about certain types of exercise to help improve your fitness levels.  It talks about starting slow and working your way towards a goal.  Physical activity is a variety of different exercises including walking at a brisk pace, so everyone can participate.  The health benefits of physical activity far outweigh the risks of getting hurt.  It gives the reader a precise measurement of how much physical activity to perform to control weight, and lose weight.  It explains how heart disease and stroke are two of the most common causes of death in the US.  It adds that 150 minutes a week of aerobic activity can decrease the risk of having these diseases.  It also states that in a study adding physical activity to the regiment can even lower the risk.  Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing typ-2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which you have some combination of too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar.  It also discusses the risks of cancer.  With physical activity not only can you produce a better quality of life but you can once again decrease the risk of these potentially deadly diseases.  The article which is research based, recites the importance on physical activity to live a healthy life but also can help you mentally. Being physically active can lead to positive moods as well as strengthening your mental health.  It helps aide in balance and decreases the risk of injury if performed daily.  Everyone can gain health benefits from physical activity, to live a healthy and longer life. 

With the loss of physical education in schools and having less time in school for physical activity, the River Terrace Elementary in Washington D.C. found a unique way to incorporate physical activity into their day.  Most of the students receive one day of physical education for 50 minutes, when sixty minutes of daily physical activity is required to live a healthy lifestyle.  “Efforts to bring more physical activity to River Terrace were motivated in part by the school nurse’s general awareness of childhood obesity, and her particular concern for a number of overweight students who were already experiencing diseases associated with excess body weight, such as diabetes.”  The nurse at the school proposed a “Jammin’ minute” in association with Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program.  It provides a one minute burst of physical activity at any course of the day.  Even the staff participates to provide better leadership and to become better role models for the students. Getting support from the parents was not an issue at the school, but the article brought up a good point.  “Parents are one thing that we’re really focused on because regardless of what we do at school, ultimately the decisions parents make are going to create the biggest impact.”  They also provide the students and family members to take part in initiative programs such as family walks, to healthy cooking sessions.  These are all situations in which the PE part is getting eliminated, but there are other outlets and opportunities for physical activity in school.  “Jammin’ Minute can be a realistic and effective “bridge” tool for increasing children’s physical activity until schools have sufficient resources to develop more comprehensive P.E. programs.  Jammin’ Minute is simple to implement, and appears to be a good way to begin instilling healthier life habits.”  The purpose of the “Jammin’ Minute” is to enhance physical activity in the students while not taking away from their academics.  The students can increase physical activity without having to take more PE’s. 

This article was developed by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.  The article starts off with a commitment to physical fitness for life.  As an individual you have to be held accountable for your own actions.  Being physically fit is a way of life. Every action that is taken is your own.  Fitness is defined in the article as, “A condition that helps us look, feel and do our best. More specifically, it is: "The ability to perform daily tasks vigorously and alertly, with energy left over for enjoying leisure-time activities and meeting emergency demands.”  There are four essential parts to fitness: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.  All of these parts are included in the presidential fitness study that I perform on my students.  An exercise program should include all basic components in each workout.  Each workout should have a warm-up and cool down to begin and end a workout.  There are four basic principles to be followed in an exercise regimen: specificity, overload, regularity, and progression.  Heart rate is widely accepted as a good method for measuring intensity during running, swimming, cycling and other aerobic activities. Exercise that doesn't raise your heart rate to a certain level and keep it there for 20 minutes won't contribute significantly to cardiovascular fitness. The article goes into a target heart rate zone which I measure and instill these methods into my classes so that they understand what zone they should be in to increase fitness levels.  The article also relays a message of when the best time to exercise is.  It states that the most popular times to work out are early in the morning for more energy towards the day and midafternoon before a large meal.  The article states that being physically fit is not just geared towards athletes.  In order to prevent disease and obesity exercise is a must.  Improved health, improved sense of well-being, improved appearance, enhanced social life, increased stamina are all benefits of being physically fit.  It also gives tips such as taking the stairs rather than the elevator to increase your heart rate during the day.  To live a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy and maintaining a diet is necessary as well.  The article lists a surplus of exercises and the calories burned per hour of that exercise.  The article explains the basics of fitness and its benefits. 

  More Americans are now overweight due to inactivity.  68% of all adults are overweight due to the lack of physical fitness.  Because of mass transportation and technology, Americans do not create a healthy lifestyle.  It is also stated that it is more difficult to create an active lifestyle.  Physically active jobs only make up 25% of Americans workforce.  The average work week is now forty-seven hours per week, which is up 164 hours a year from twenty years ago.  Being inactive means more medical expenses for employers per year.  The risk of inactivity is severe diseases.  It is stated in this article that thirty minutes of exercise per day will decrease the likelihood of getting disease and moving will change your life for the better. 

The first quote in the article sums up the importance of physical activity to me, “Do you want to add years to your life? Or life to your years?”  The American Heart Association recommends at least thirty minutes of physical activity per day to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  The American Heart Association explains why physical activity is important to improve both mental and physical health.  The article explains that physical activity will boost mental wellness.  Regular physical activity can relieve tension, anxiety, depression and anger according to the article.  Also, exercise increases the flow of oxygen which directly affects the brain. Your mental acuity and memory can be improved with physical activity.  Physical activity also improves physical wellness.  Activity increases your immune system and decreases the risk of developing disease.  Physical activity can prolong optimal health.  “Without regular physical activity, the body slowly loses its strength, stamina and ability to function well.”  The article then lists the proven health benefits when exercising regularly at thirty minutes per day. 

• Improves blood circulation, which reduces the risk of heart disease
• Keeps weight under control
• Helps in the battle to quit smoking
• Improves blood cholesterol levels
• Prevents and manages high blood pressure
• Prevents bone loss
• Boosts energy level
• Helps manage stress
• Releases tension
• Promotes enthusiasm and optimism
• Counters anxiety and depression
• Helps you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly
• Improves self-image
• Increases muscle strength, increasing the ability to do other physical activities
• Provides a way to share an activity with family and friends
• Reduces coronary heart disease in women by 30-40 percent
• Reduces risk of stroke by 20 percent in moderately active people and by 27 percent in highly active ones
• Establishes good heart-healthy habits in children and counters the conditions (obesity, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol levels, poor lifestyle habits, etc.) that lead to heart attack and stroke later in life
• Helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging and maintains quality of life and independence longer for seniors

Overall, this article looks in depth at the benefits of physical activity both mentally and physically.  In PE, I focus on keeping the students on a thirty minute physical activity schedule each day to go along with the requirements by the American Heart Association.  Hopefully the students can reap the mental and physical health benefits that they learn about it in class and use them towards living a healthy lifestyle for the remainder of their lives.