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Obesity is a grim health problem that is plaguing 30% of American adults. The percentage of young Americans who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. Now, over 9 million children between the ages of 6-19 are considered overweight. It is the greatest health care risk in America. A few years ago, I founded the Congressional Fitness Caucus with Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO) to promote fitness and healthy lifestyles while working to address the obesity epidemic.
Physical activity early in life plays a key role in preventive health. Right now, schools in the United States are not required by federal law to implement physical education programs in schools. Therefore, many schools have eliminated P.E. because they direct their limited resources to the areas where they will be tested. Almost half of young children do not participate in vigorous physical activity on a regular basis.
That is why I plan to introduce legislation that would require states participating in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to adopt content and performance standards in physical education. Just as students are required to be assessed on their knowledge and skills relating to reading, math and science. To paraphrase what Thomas Jefferson said two hundred years ago, "A child who is not physically well cannot learn."
While the NCLB legislation must be improved in several important areas during the upcoming reauthorization, we need to keep it and work diligently to make it better.
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