"ONE-ON-ONE" WITH

Anne Flannery

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Why do you as a professional think that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) included physical activity in the recently released MyPyramid?

The subject of physical fitness in general, and obesity in particular, is pretty simple at its core: there must be a healthy balance between calories consumed and calories burned. By including physical activity in the new MyPyramid, the USDA is wisely acknowledging the critical role physical activity plays in a person’s health over a lifetime. As a nation, we must start looking at overall fitness levels instead of simply focusing on BMI (body mass index). When it comes to health and wellness, the biggest problem in this country is the decline in physical activity. This is especially true with our children and youth. Recent studies have shown that the drop in physical activity among our young people over the past 25 years is more significant than the increase in calories consumed.

What do you stress to parent groups regarding their role in returning physical education to schools?

Parents have to get involved. They must become strong advocates for quality, daily physical education in their school system. First, they must examine the situation in their schools. What’s the quantity and quality of PE? For example, are certified physical education professionals teaching PE? Is the emphasis on lifetime physical activities and sports? Is technology like heart rate monitors and pedometers being utilized? Once parents understand what they’re up against, we can help them. Our website, www.pe4life.org is full of resources. We have a Community Action Kit that parents can use with key audiences like school board members. Our PE4life Institutes offer training in a community-based approach to physical education.

When talking with parent groups, I make sure that they are aware -- and fully understand -- that students achieve best when they are physically fit. Quality physical education isn’t just about improving our kids’ fitness levels and attacking the childhood obesity epidemic in this country, it’s also about enhancing brain function and improving academic performance. This isn’t an either/or situation between strong academics and PE. Research is continuing to show a strong correlation between exercise and academic performance. For example, in a 2002 California Department of Education study, higher academic achievement was strongly correlated with higher levels of fitness.

How can families quickly and efficiently incorporate physical activity into their daily lives?

Parents are critical role models in the lives of our children. At the end of the day, however, between homework and dinner physical activity too often falls to the wayside. That’s one reason we stress the importance of quality, daily physical education in schools. Over 95% of our children and youth are in school. It’s the one place where we can reach nearly all our children, including those most at risk, with critical lifetime health and wellness messages in quality physical education programs.

One family member can be a powerful influencer on the rest of their family. And its not just parents influencing children. We have a bunch of great stories from our PE4life Institutes regarding how PE4life students went home and got the entire family moving. Our students get detailed fitness reports to take home. These often serve as educational and inspirational tools for everyone in the family. In many cases, families have started regular physical activity programs.

We suggest families start with pedometers. Get everyone in the family one and start taking walks together. Set step goals, collectively and/or individually. Select activities that the family can enjoy together like tennis or hiking. We recommend setting up a family activity calendar with sports, games and other physical activities that you can enjoy with your children.

What are some actions or steps PE4life is taking to reduce children’s exposure to chronic disease and to raise awareness on physical activity?

In our opinion, advocating for – and delivering – quality, daily physical education is the most effective and efficient way to attack the physical inactivity crisis and the resultant negative health consequences impacting our young people today. Our mission is to develop a country of active, healthy children and youth by increasing access to quality physical education. To that end, we focus on advocacy initiatives and education and training programs. Our goal is to be a catalyst for change by inspiring, educating and empowering key stakeholders, like parents, school administrators, health care leaders, and, of course, physical education teachers, to build quality physical education programs that increase the chances our kids will lead physically active and healthy lifestyles now and in the future.

Our focus in 2006 will be to expand our PE4life Institutes, which are model physical education programs where we train teams of community leaders on how to develop PE4life programs in their communities. We know the PE4life way works. We have evidence that students at our PE4life Institutes are more physically fit than their peers. With that knowledge comes a strong desire to touch more kids by spreading PE4life programs across the country.

As President & CEO of PE4life, what are some of your greatest accomplishments in making community leaders aware of the importance of physical education?

In looking back, we’ve accomplished some things that are having a great impact. Along with the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, we created National PE Day® and have nurtured it into the most powerful advocacy event in the country for quality physical education. We developed the PE4life Institute and as a result community leaders from around the country, and even a few foreign countries, have had the opportunity to see what’s possible and learn how to develop their own PE4life program. Our organization has also been a major player in getting the successful Physical Education for Progress (PEP) program funded and expanded every year. The PEP initiative is the only federal program that supports the development and growth of physical education classes in U.S. schools and community-based organizations. The result has been over $255 million in grants to communities and school districts in all 50 states to improve physical education programs.

I’m confident, however, our greatest accomplishments lie ahead. PE4life is in the business of creating a social epidemic. The end result of this social epidemic will be quality, daily physical education programs for every K-12 student across the country.

What were some of the successes from National PE Day 2005?

This year’s National PE Day in May was an energizing success. In Washington, D.C., we led a coalition of health care leaders, business executives, celebrity athletes and physical education professionals in over 100 meetings with members of Congress, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other important policymakers. Our cadre of celebrity athletes was our best ever and included Steve Young, Bill Russell, Peyton Manning, Archie Manning, Jennifer Azzi, Herschel Walker, Alana Beard, Teddy Atlas, Tim Brown and Heather Mitts. Young and Azzi, along with several members of Congress, took part in a successful press conference on Capitol Hill. National PE Day also included a moving and inspiring PE4life awards dinner at which several companies, PE advocates and educators were honored for their outstanding efforts in advancing the cause of quality physical education.

That powerful awards dinner made clear the importance of our mission. The need to teach our kids the benefits of a lifelong physically active lifestyle has never been greater. As physical education advocates, we must all keep the faith and stay the course!