When Jennifer Loud of Ballston Spa was growing up, life was different. As a kid, she spent most of her time outdoors with friends in her neighborhood, only to come home in time for dinner.
“It was a different time back then,” Loud says. “We only had three television channels so we had to be active to keep ourselves occupied.”
The world has changed since Loud was a child. Regular physical activity isn’t common for a lot of today’s children. With the technology options available today, it’s easy for kids and parents to occupy their time without moving at all.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. A recent report states that about one out of every six children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered obese.
“We live in an age of electronics and video games,” says Julianne Hart, NYS Government Relations Director at the American Heart Association. “We need to get kids up and moving again.”
Experts say risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis can begin to develop early in life, and regular physical activity is a significant weapon in preventing these diseases.
How much activity is needed?
The National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) suggests one hour of physical activity a day is considered “regular physical activity” for a child.
Twenty years ago kids were easily getting that hour of activity by playing games such as tag or hide-and-seek in the backyard. Today, with children spending the majority of their day sitting in classrooms, watching television, playing video games or surfing the internet, it requires more thought in order to get them to reach the recommended goal of 60 minutes a day.
The NASPE and the AHA believe the first step in getting kids moving again is by involving the schools. According to those organizations, by requiring a set amount of time spent in physical education at school, we are assuring that kids will at least be getting a portion of the recommended amount of physical activity in a day.
While the AHA recommends elementary students receive 150 minutes of physical education per week and secondary students receive 225 minutes, New York State’s public schools are required to provide 120 minutes of physical education per week in grades K-6. Students in grades K-3 must have daily physical education and students in grades 4-6 must have physical education at least three times per week. The state also requires at least 90 minutes per week of physical education in grades 7-12. At the secondary level, this must be provided at least three times per week in one semester and two times per week in the other semester.
Fred Powers, the Director of Physical Education at Bethlehem Central Schools says meeting the state requirements has not been much of an issue in the district. The students’ schedules are created with the necessary physical education block taken into account.
Not all schools, however, are finding it to be that simple. The most recent Shape of the Nation report released in November, a report created by the NASPE and AHA to track physical education in the education system, found that some schools are allowing physical education substitutions, and other schools are not complying with the standards at all.
Making time for fitness
As the Director of Youth markets at the American Heart Association, Jeff Masline, spends a good amount of time in New York schools and finds that many districts are having a hard time fitting the time into the school day.
“At most school districts, it’s a scheduling thing because there is such a focus on the core subjects like math, science and reading, and there is not enough allotment of time for physical education classes,” he said.
Masline adds that he often sees schools where gyms may be doubling as a cafeteria or an auditorium.
Hart said she realizes districts may have concerns about time and money, but she says research has shown that healthier students perform better academically, and physical activity has a positive impact in the long run.
“You are not going to take away but actually enhance development,” Hart says.
“If you look at the childhood obesity rates in New York State, it’s about one-third of kids that are overweight or obese,” Hart says. “It’s really troubling, and we definitely need to take some steps to get back on track and reduce those rates.”
Finding the right balance
Aside from issues with scheduling, another problem concerning the AHA is that New York allows students to substitute interscholastic sports for their required physical education credit.
“We certainly encourage them to be engaged in other activities, but considering the state is not meeting the higher recommendations, we would encourage them to eliminate the substitutions,” Hart says.
Powers said the Bethlehem School District chooses not to allow substitutions for physical education.
“The state asks that we teach competencies and proficiencies on a variety of activities,” Powers says. “For example, we teach multiple units, such as physical wellness, lifetime instruction, team sports, yoga, archery, aquatics and golf.”
Powers says a student involved in a sport such as football in the fall semester wouldn’t learn the proficiencies required in those units taught in that semester if not in class.
In addition, students must pass skill and cognitive assessments in physical education. A typical senior in a Bethlehem High School physical education class will receive a pre-assessment in September, a post-assessment in January, three skill assessments and a number of quizzes. Students substituting an interscholastic sport during the semester are still required to complete these assessments in order to earn the two credits for graduation.
“Our goal isn’t to create an athlete,” Powers says. “We just want students to be moving and more active.”
Make it about family fitness
Powers adds that it takes more than a child attending physical education class to learn to live an active lifestyle.
“We only have so much time with the kids in school,” Powers says. “They need to learn to have an active lifestyle and do things they enjoy doing.”
Masline says a healthy lifestyle starts at home with the parents.
“A large part of the obesity problem we can’t put all on the schools because they only see the kids part of the day,” he says. “In my community, I am the school board president, and I think it starts with the board of education and the superintendent and the policies they set; then from there on how those policies are enacted by the staff, the faculty and the community as a whole.”
For Loud, physical activity is a regular part of her family’s day in and out of school.
“Being active after school and on the weekends has a double benefit in that it keeps the kids off the couch and it’s hard for them to shovel down a box of Pringles while they’re on the volleyball court,” she says.
Both Loud and her husband enjoy volleyball, running and skiing and have naturally incorporated this way of living into their children’s lives from the beginning.
“A big part of getting kids to be active is starting young,” says Taraya Ricci, Youth and Family Sports Director at the Saratoga Regional YMCA.
For older children, Ricci says it is a matter of finding things they enjoy. When exercise doesn’t feel like exercise and is enjoyable, it is more likely to become a lifestyle rather than a chore. Just as important Ricci adds is that parents set a good example by being active themselves.
“We cannot rely on schools to be the answer and end all for the problem, we have to work hand-in-hand,” Masline says. “Certainly school plays a role in it and has to be a model for that, but it doesn’t work if it’s not reinforced at home.”