A LITTLE EXERCISE HELPS STUDENTS LEARN

Pensacola News Journal (Pensacola, FL)
May 20, 2004

It is no secret that too many children today are overweight, poorly nourished and participate in far too little physical activity.

In fact, obesity among school-aged children is at epidemic levels and often leads to serious health problems.

In response this public health crisis, the Escambia County School Board wisely accepted a task force's recommendations aimed at developing in children a lifetime of physical activity and wellness, as well as a long-term priority of providing 30 minutes of daily physical education for students in grades 5 and below as funds become available.

A key to ensure that the recommendations work is to make certain that physical education is overwhelmingly exercise instead of classroom lectures.

Children need time to play and exercise. Having to sit still and pay attention in a classroom all day is asking a lot, especially for young minds and bodies filled with unreleased energy. Allowing them to participate in physical activities helps them both physically and mentally, and makes them healthier _ and better students.

The fact is that one in four Florida students is overweight by the time he or she reaches the ninth grade, according to a 2002 survey of state schools.

Health officials say they are seeing problems in children and adolescents usually associated with Type 2 diabetes _ typically an adult disease.

School districts, however, are faced with a dilemma. They are continually under more and more pressure to improve academic achievement and to be held accountable for their students' scores on standardized, high-stakes tests. At the same time _ while they understand and value the importance of physical activity as central to a student's growth and development _ they are neither encouraged nor rewarded for providing leadership in this area.

It's unfortunate that academic demands have pushed physical education aside in schools.

To be sure, improving academic achievement is crucial. Still, physical activities and physical education support those goals, too. Research shows that young people do better in school when they are physically active.

Schools are essential to childhood health. Far too many children do not participate in organized physical activity during non-school hours. For many of them schools may be the only place they will get the exercise they need.

Without daily physical exercise, keeping students at their desks throughout a long mentally challenging school day can be difficult for students and demanding for teachers charged not just with maintaining discipline, but with keeping young minds on their school work.

The bottom line is that to be healthy, children need regular exercise. They need the release from the tension and confinement of the classroom, a chance to let it all out in a constructive and healthy way.

Increasing physical education and exercise should go a long way in fighting obesity and improving the health of our school-aged children.

We should be sure that physical education is mostly exercise and not classroom lectures.