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Introduction
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Appendices  
Subject Index  
Glossary  
References
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2-04: Health/safety education as a core subject
  > View All Chapter Guidelines  
Action for Healthy Kids
Resource for health-promotion in schools with an emphasis on promotion of sound nutrition and increased physical activity.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - "School Health Index for Physical Activity and Healthy Eating: A Self Assessment & Planning Guide"
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Division of Adolescent and School Health
Includes youth risk behavior surveillance and guidelines for school health programs.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education
The "store" includes published national guidelines.
  > View All Chapter Related Links  
3-01 - Daily physical education
 

Provide all students in kindergarten through grade 12 with daily physical education, with no substitutions allowed for participation in other courses or activities.

   
Rationale
 

Daily physical education and activity allows students to acquire skills and attitudes necessary for lifelong participation in physical activity. Physical activity is a proven treatment strategy for obesity and may also be effective to prevent future obesity. High student physical activity levels are associated with higher grades, less substance abuse and healthier psychological profiles.

   
Commentary
 

Physical education is essential to a student's total education. Planned, successfully-conducted physical education programs can provide many benefits for children and adolescents. These include improved levels of physical fitness, self-discipline, enhanced self-confidence, development of many skills, and reinforcement of knowledge learned in other subject areas. Physical activity has been correlated with physical and emotional health, such as better relationships, less depression, fewer risk-taking behaviors, and higher grades. Inactive adults show increased rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and certain cancers, all of which can lead to premature illness and death. Physical education should be offered every day to provide sufficient teaching time and ample opportunities for students to learn skills and be physically active.

Exemptions from physical education should not be permitted for participation in activities such as athletic teams, community recreation programs, Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), or marching band. Instruction in physical education is an integral part of each student's education (including students with special needs), has value beyond the physical activity itself, and students should not be exempt from it. A student may be excused from physical education when a physician states in writing that specific physical activities will jeopardize the student's health.

   
REFERENCES
 

Aarts H, Paulussen T, Schaalma H. Physical exercise habit: on the conceptualization and formation of habitual health behaviours. Health Educ Res 1997 Sep;12(3):363-74.

Bogden JF. Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: A School Health Policy Guide. Part I: Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, and Tobacco Use Prevention. Alexandria, VA: National Association of State Boards of Education; 2000.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for school health programs to promote lifelong healthy eating. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1996;45(RR-9):1-41.

Field T, Diego M, Sanders CE. Exercise is positively related to adolescents' relationships and academics.Adolescence 2001 Spring;36(141):105-10.

Napper-Owen G. Opportunity to Learn: Standards for Elementary Physical Education. Reston, VA: National Association for Sport and Physical Education; 2000.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education. Moving into the Future: National Standards of Physical Education, 2nd Edition.  Reston VA: NASPE; 2004.

Paluska SA, Schwenk TL. Physical activity and mental health: current concepts. Sports Med 2000 Mar; 29(3):167-80.

Seefeldt VD. Physical education. In Marx E, Wooley SF (eds). Health is Academic: A Guide to Coordinated School Health Programs. New York: Teachers College Press; 1998: 43-66.

Steinbeck KS. The importance of physical activity in the prevention of overweight and obesity in childhood: a review and an opinion. Obes Rev 2001 May;2(2):117-30.

Trost SG, Pate RR, Dowda M, Ward DS, Felton G, Saunders R. Psychosocial correlates of physical activity in white and African-American girls. J Adolesc Health. 2002 Sep;31(3):226-33.

 
          
 
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