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Physical Activity for Young People
Introduction
The President's Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) has a longstanding history
of promoting physical activity/fitness, and sports for
children and youth. In fact the Council was originally
named the President's Council on Youth Fitness. Though
the charge of the Council has been expanded to promote
physical activity/fitness, and sports among all segments
of the population, a paramount concern for youth still
exists.
Consistent with interest in children
and youth, the PCPFS Research Digest has made it a point
to focus on children from time to time. When possible,
the Fall issue features children and youth. In the fall
of 1994, factors that influence physical activity among
children were discussed. Subsequent issues of the PCPFS
Research Digest discussed appropriate physical activity
levels for youth (November 1994), the health benefits
of physical activity for children and adolescents (December
1995), youth sports in America (September 1997), and
psycho-physiological contributions of physical activity
and sports for girls (March 1998).
In the past few years, much attention
has been given to physical activity for children and
several important documents have been published that
present vital information about children and adolescents
in physical activity. In this issue of the PCPFS Research
Digest, the focus is again on physical activity and
youth. We, the editors, have teamed with Russ Pate a
past president of the American College of Sports Medicine
and one of the leading authorities on youth activity
to bring you up to date on recent information about
physical activity promotion for youth.
Physical activity and youth is covered
in four sections. First, the physical activity patterns
of young people are discussed. The second section deals
with the amount of physical activity considered appropriate
for children and adolescents. The first two sections
offer an understanding about how active youth should
be. The third section provides guidelines for getting
youth to perform adequate amounts of physical activity.
Since all youth must attend school, school physical
education is a logical place to provide opportunities
for youth physical activity. The final section of this
PCPFS Research Digest describes the current status of
physical education in schools.
The contents of this digest are based
on several recent reports (see Table 1). Readers are
encouraged to acquire copies of the documents cited
in this Digest and to use them in their efforts to promote
physical activity among all children and adolescents.
Table
1. Important Documents for Those
Interested in Youth Physical Activity
Promotion
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- Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. (1998). Youth
risk behavior surveillance – United
States, 1997. Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report, 47 (No. SS-3), 1-89.
- Rowland, T.W. (1990).
Exercise and Children's Health. Champaign,
IL: Human Kinetics.
- National Association
for Sport and Physical Education. (1998).
Physical activity for children: A statement
of guidelines. Reston, VA: NASPE Publications.
- Sallis, J.F., Patrick
K., & Long B.L. (1994). An overview
of international consensus conference
on physical activity guidelines for
adolescents. Pediatric Exercise Science,
6, 299-301.
- Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. (1997). Guidelines
for school and community programs to
promote lifelong physical activity among
young people. Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report, 46 (No. RR-6), 1-36.
- Pate, R.R., Small,
M.L., Ross, J.G., Young, J.C., Flint,
K.H., & Warren, C.W. (1995). School
Physical Education. Journal of School
Health, 65, 312-318.
- U. S. Department
of Health and Human Services. (1996).
Physical Activity and Health: A Report
of the Surgeon General, Atlanta, GA:
U. S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion.
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Physical Activity Patterns of Young
People
Though the physical activity behavior
of young people has been a concern for educators and
health professionals for several decades, our knowledge
about the amounts and patterns of physical activity
in the population of American children and youth is
limited. Only in recent years have national health surveys
included measures of physical activity, and these surveys
have focused only on youngsters of high school age.
The methodologies for these public health surveys have
utilized self-reports of recent participation in types
of physical activity. Despite these limitations, the
available evidence does allow us to draw some conclusions
about the physical activity behavior of our youth.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) now administers, on alternate years,
the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) to a national
probability sample of American high school students.
That survey includes questions regarding participation
in bouts of vigorous physical activity, stretching exercises,
and strengthening exercises during the seven days prior
to completion of the questionnaire. The results of the
1997 YRBS, summarized in Table 2, show that a great
many American youth are quite active, but a sizeable
fraction fail to meet current physical activity standards
(See Reference 1, Table 1). Nearly two-thirds (63.8%)
of U.S. high school students reported participating
in three or more bouts of vigorous physical activity
during the previous seven days - an observation that
is both encouraging and disappointing.
On the positive side, this is a vastly
higher percentage than is seen with U.S. adults, among
whom only 10-12% regularly participate in vigorous activity.
However, it is worrisome that over one-third
of high school youth fail to meet this standard. A full
one-half of students did not meet the standards for
stretching and strengthening exercises.
An examination of the relationships
between major demographic variables and the YRBS physical
activity data reveals several disquieting trends. First,
it is clear that substantially fewer girls than boys
meet the standards for vigorous physical activity and
strengthening exercises. The gender difference for vigorous
physical activity is quite dramatic and approaches 20%
(72.3 vs. 53.5%). Another trend is the decline in physical
activity with increasing age. This trend is seen in
both boys and girls but is considerably more prominent
in girls. For example, between 9th and 12th grades the
percentage of boys meeting the vigorous physical activity
standard declines by 10%, but in girls the decline is
23%, and this is despite the fact that in the 9th grade
the percentage of girls meeting this standard was already
lower than among boys.
YRBS also shows that race/ethnicity
is associated with physical activity, particularly among
girls. For all three physical activity variables presented
in Table 1, the percentage of Black girls meeting the
recommended standard was considerably lower than among
White or Hispanic girls. Interestingly, among boys the
differences among races/ethnicities were much less marked.
This suggests that ethnic-based cultural factors may
operate as powerful determinants of physical activity
among females.
As noted, the YRBS data cited above
are for secondary school students. Though data are more
limited on younger children, various sources have documented
that young children are among the most active of the
American population (See Reference 2, Table 1). Of concern
is the fact that with each increasing year of age, activity
levels tend to decline. Just as teens decrease in activity
with age, it also appears that activity begins to decrease
in early childhood. Again, the good news is that most
young children are active. The bad news is that as time
passes more and more youth become sedentary. How Much
Physical Activity Is Enough?
Physical Activity Guidelines for Children.
After extensive review over a three year period of time
the Council for Physical Activity for Children (COPEC)
of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education
(NASPE) published guidelines concerning appropriate
amounts of physical activity for children (see Reference
3, Table 1). The complete report of the guidelines presents
the rationale, activity models for children, important
concepts relating to children in physical activity,
and five basic guidelines supported by research evidence.
The information that follows abstracts the information
in the COPEC/NASPE report.
The guidelines were prepared because
of the confusion about "how much physical activity
is enough" for children. In the past, recommendations
for children were basically the same as those for adults.
The intent was to provide guidelines specifically for
children. The five basic guidelines are summarized in
Table 3.
Table
3. Physical Activity for Children:
Guidelines Summary*
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- Guidelines 1. Elementary
school aged children should accumulate
at least 30 to 60 minutes of age appropriate
physical activity from a variety of
physical activities on all, or most,
days of the week.
- Guideline 2. An accumulation
of more than 60 minutes, and up to several
hours per day of age and developmentally
appropriate activity is encouraged for
elementary school aged children.
- Guideline 3. Some
of the child's physical activity each
day should be in periods lasting 10
to 15 minutes or more and include moderate
to vigorous physical activity. This
activity will typically be intermittent
in nature involving alternating moderate
to vigorous activity with brief periods
of rest and recovery.
- Guideline 4. Extended
periods of inactivity are inappropriate
for children.
- Guideline 5. A variety
of physical activities is recommended
for elementary school children.
*Adapted from
Reference 3, Table 1.
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The guidelines in Table 3 aid teachers,
coaches, parents, and others that work with children
in physical activity and help them make decisions that
are in the best interest of children. Like adults, children
can benefit from activity when it is offered in the
appropriate amount. However, because children are inherently
active, need activity for normal growth and development,
and need time in activity to develop lifetime physical
activity skills, they require more activity than adults.
In addition children need to focus on building all parts
of health-related physical fitness and that takes time.
These are the reasons why guidelines 1 and 2 specify
more physical activity for children than for adults.
Because children have a short attention
span and are concrete rather than abstract thinkers
they are not captivated by continuous vigorous activity
as are some adults. Further, children are intermittently
active by nature. They exercise vigorously for a while,
then rest. Evidence suggests that such intermittent
exercise is necessary for normal growth giving rise
to the need for guideline 3. Children can and should
do vigorous physical activity, but it is typically done
in short bursts followed by rest periods. Normal and
typical child's play follows this pattern making an
accumulation of this type of activity appropriate.
Assumptions that children are inactive if they do not
perform continuous vigorous activity are inaccurate.
Guideline 4 discourages long periods
of inactivity for children. As shown earlier, children
become less active over time. This may be in part due
to normal developmental changes. However, a considerable
amount of the decrease may be a result of learned behavior.
We know that youth inactivity tracks to adult inactivity.
Inactive children typically become inactive adults.
Avoiding long periods of inactivity promotes activity
and may keep active patterns alive. For this reason,
frequent periods of activity during the day, including
recess and physical education classes in schools, are
recommended.
All of the activity suggested for
children should be developmentally appropriate. For
young children the majority of activity is in play that
is intermittent in nature. Expecting children to do
what adults do is inappropriate. Still variety is important
and children are encouraged to participate in a variety
of activities (Guideline 5). A part of the variety should
include participation in activities that build all parts
of health-related physical fitness including cardiovascular
fitness, strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and
healthy body composition. Also children should be encouraged
to perform activities of daily living such as walking
or riding their bikes to school, working in the yard,
and doing household chores. Since it has been shown
that these activities benefit adults, it is quite probable
that performing lifestyle activities early in life can
promote active lifestyles as adults.
The COPEC/NASPE report provides more
details on how the guidelines can be adapted to the
needs of children age 5-9 and children age 10-12. For
more information consult the report directly.
Physical Activity Guidelines for Adolescents.
In 1994, an international conference was held to establish
physical activity guidelines for adolescents. These
guidelines were to establish how much activity is appropriate
for teens. These guidelines are summarized in Table
4.
Table
4. Physical Activity for Adolescents:
Guidelines Summary*
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- Guideline 1. All
adolescents should be physically active
daily, or nearly every day, as part
of play, games, sports, work, transportation,
recreation, physical education, or planned
exercise, in the family, school and
community activities.
- Guideline 2. Adolescents
should engage in three or more sessions
per week of activities that last 20
minutes or more at a time and require
moderate to vigorous levels of exertion.
*From Reference
4, Table 1.
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It is obvious from Table 4 that the
guidelines for adolescents are more similar to adult
guidelines than the guidelines for children. Still much
of the activity of teens will be associated with school
and community activities. Encouraging a wide variety
of activities encourages teens to learn lifestyle physical
activities that can be used for a lifetime.
Guidelines for School and Community
Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity among
Young People
In 1997 CDC's Division of Adolescent
and School Health published a comprehensive set of guidelines
on promotion of physical activity in adolescents (See
Reference 5, Table 1). Based on an extensive search
of the scientific literature and consultation with a
broad array of experts, the guidelines were intended
to provide educators and other professionals with a
summary of current best practices for promoting physical
activity in young people. While the emphasis is on initiatives
that can be implemented in schools, attention is also
given to the roles of parents, community organizations,
and health care professionals. Table
5 provides a summary of the major recommendations
presented in the guidelines.
The Guidelines are based on the premise
that youngsters are most likely to develop physically
active lifestyles if they are provided with physical
activity experiences they enjoy and with which they
can be successful. Enjoyment and success require that
the physical activities are developmentally appropriate
and well matched to the individual or group's interests.
Accordingly, activities should be selected with careful
attention to the age, gender, skill level, and cultural
characteristics of the youngsters involved. If all the
Guidelines were thoroughly and effectively implemented,
American youngsters would encounter environments that
are supportive of enjoyable physical activity in the
settings in which they spend almost all their time:
home, school, and community.
Current Status of Physical Education
in Schools
Physical education has been an institution
in American schools for over a century. However, only
in recent years have carefully designed national surveys
of physical education practices and enrollment been
conducted. One source of information on the status of
physical education in the U.S. is YRBS, which queries
high school students about enrollment in physical education.
The other major source of information is the School
Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS), which was
conducted by the CDC in 1994. SHPPS provides information
concerning a wide array of state, district, and school
policies pertinent to physical education. Also, SHPPS
queries school personnel, including individual physical
education teachers, concerning curricular and instructional
practices.
The results of SHPPS support the conclusion
that physical education is an entrenched component of
American public education. Almost all states (94%) and
school districts (95%) require schools to offer physical
education, and in the vast majority of states (82%)
and districts (93%) the physical education program is
supported by a written curriculum, guideline or framework
document. However, compliance with a prescribed curriculum
is unevenly monitored - 55% of states and 70% of districts
reported monitoring compliance with the established
physical education curriculum. Policies provide for
specialized certification of physical education teachers
in 92% of states, and the same percentage of states
require secondary level physical education teachers
to be certified in physical education. In contrast,
only 17% of states require elementary level physical
education teachers to be certified in physical education.
Almost half of states (43%) provide for a combined physical
education/health education teacher certification. A
minority of states (23%) and districts (29%) have policies
requiring administration of a physical fitness test.
SHPPS data collected at the school
level provide an informative profile of policies pertinent
to physical education requirements. Almost all middle/junior
high schools (92%) and high schools (93%) report requiring
students to complete at least one physical education
course. About one-half of middle/junior high schools
(47%) require three years of physical education, but
only 26% of high schools require three or more years
of physical education. At the high school level the
requirement is split about equally between one year
(37%), two years (25%), and three or more years (26%).
The length of a required physical education course and
the frequency of class meetings varies markedly across
schools. In about half of schools (54%) the physical
education course spans the entire school year (36 weeks),
but a one semester (18 weeks) requirement is also quite
common (20%). Physical education classes usually
meet five days per week (59% of schools), but in a sizeable
fraction of schools (17%) the frequency of class meetings
is one or two days per week. Though it is beyond the
scope of this paper to provide a complete overview of
the findings in SHPPS, this survey does provide information
on curricular offerings and instructional practices
in physical education. This information is summarized
in another source (see Reference 6, Table 1).
YRBS, by surveying high school students
themselves, provides an alternative source of information
on the status of physical education. The YRBS questionnaire
includes two items that pertain to physical education.
One item queries the frequency of attendance at physical
education classes, and the second item asks for an estimation
of the physical education class time typically spent
exercising or playing sports. The results of the 1997
YRBS indicate that enrollment in physical education
declines from approximately 70% of students in the 9th
grade to fewer than 40% in the 12th grade. Only 27%
of students attend physical education class on a daily
basis, and that fraction declines from 43% of 9th graders
to 19% of 11th and 12th graders. On a positive note,
a sizeable majority of students (74 %) who are enrolled
in physical education report actively playing sports
or exercising for 20 or more minutes per class.
The information provided by SHPPS
and YRBS present a mixed picture regarding the status
of physical education in the United States. On the one
hand, the results of the two surveys support the conclusion
that physical education is an institutionalized component
of the educational system and that virtually all children
are extensively exposed to physical education during
their years as students in American schools. At the
secondary level, almost all teachers who deliver instruction
in physical education are required to hold specialized
certification in the field. However, SHPPS and YRBS
also show that exposure to physical education is uneven
and declines rapidly as youngsters progress through
high school. In addition, it seems clear that there
is rather limited accountability for physical education.
Indeed, even with the recent adoption of national surveys
like SHPPS and YRBS, our knowledge of the quality of
physical education curricula and instruction is very
limited. Refinement of the survey instruments used in
these studies may provide more information of "quality"
issues in the future.
Table
5. Guidelines for Promoting Physical
Activity Among Youth*
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- Policy: Schools and
communities should establish policies
that promote enjoyable, lifelong physical
activity among young people.
- Environment: Schools
and communities should provide physical
and social environments that encourage
and enable safe and enjoyable physical
activity.
- Physical Education:
Schools should implement physical education
programs that emphasize enjoyable participation
in physical activity and that help students
develop the knowledge, attitudes, motor
skills, behavioral skills, and confidence
needed to adopt and maintain physically
active lifestyles.
- Health Education:
Schools should implement health education
programs that help students develop
the knowledge, attitudes, behavioral
skills, and confidence needed to adopt
and maintain physically active lifestyles.
- Extracurricular Activities:
Schools should provide extracurricular
physical activity programs that meet
the needs and interests of all students.
- Parental Involvement:
Parents and guardians should be in physical
activity instruction programs and in
extracurricular and community physical
activity programs, and they should be
encouraged to support their children's
participation in enjoyable physical
activity.
- Personnel Training:
Schools and communities should provide
training for education, coaching, recreation,
and health-care personnel that imparts
the knowledge and skills needed to effectively
promote enjoyable, lifelong physical
activity among young people.
- Health Services:
Health care professionals should assess
physical activity patterns among young
people, counsel them about physical
activity, refer them to appropriate
programs, and advocate for physical
activity instruction and programs for
young people.
- Community Programs:
Communities should provide a range of
developmentally appropriate community
sports and recreation programs that
are attractive to all young people.
- Evaluation: Schools
and communities should regularly evaluate
physical activity instruction, programs,
and facilities.
*From Reference 5,
Table 1
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Summary
At no time in our history have we
had so much information available on the benefits of
physical activity to people of all ages-including youth.
The American Heart Association has made sedentary living
a primary risk factor for heart disease, rather than
a secondary factor. The Surgeon General's Report on
Physical Activity and Health (See Reference 7, Table
1) clearly establishes the health benefits of physical
activity for people of all ages. It is also clear that
children and adolescents are more active than adults
in our society. But as children grow older they become
less active, with the decline in activity especially
prominent among teen-age girls.
We now know how much physical activity
is appropriate for different age groups and we know
that we must adapt activity to people depending on age
and developmental level. Guidelines have been established
to aid teachers, coaches, parents and other leaders
of children in implementing programs that promote lifelong
physical activity. The information is now available.
It is up to us to be informed and to use the information
to help youth of all ages to be active throughout life.
Published
quarterly by the
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Guest
Authors
Dr. Russell Pate
University of South Carolina
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President's
Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports
Washington, D.C.
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Drs.
Chuck Corbin and
Bob Pangrazi
Arizona State University
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The President's Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports
The President's Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) was established in 1956 through
an Executive Order by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
as part of a national campaign to help shape up America's
younger generation. Today, the PCPFS serves as an advisory
council to the President and Secretary of the Department
of Health & Human Services on matters involving
physical activity, fitness and sports to enhance and
improve the health of Americans of all ages.
The PCPFS enlists the active support
and assistance of individual citizens, civic groups,
private enterprise, and voluntary organizations to promote
and improve the physical activity and fitness of all
Americans and to inform the public of the important
link which exists between regular activity and good
health.
Twenty (20) individuals
from the sports, fitness and health
fields are appointed by the President to serve as members
of the Council. They are:
Elizabeth
Arendt,
M.D., St. Paul, MN
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Jimmie
Heuga,
Avon, CO
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Albert
Mead III,
Atlanta, GA
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Jeff
Blatnick,
Halfmoon, NY
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Calvin
Hill, Great
Falls, VA
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Jack
Mills,
Columbia, SC
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Ralph
Boston,
Knoxville, TN
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Jim Kelly,
Buffalo, NY
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Kevin
Saunders,
Corpus Christi, TX
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Don Casey,
East
Rutherford, NJ
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Judith
Pinero Kieffer,
Los Angeles, CA
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Amber
Travsky,
Laramie, WY
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Timothy
Finchem,
Ponte Vedra
Beach, FL
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Deborah
Slaner
Larkin, Pelham, NY
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Executive
Director-Sandra
Perlmutter
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Rockne
Freitas,
Ed.D., Honolulu, HI
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Ira Leesfield,
Coral
Gables, FL
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Three
(3) vacancies
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Zina
Garrison-Jackson,
Houston, TX
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Physical Activity
and Fitness Quote
"Youngsters are
most likely to develop physically active
lifestyles if they are provided with physical
activity
experiences they enjoy and with which they can be successful."
Russell Pate Department
of Exercise Science
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
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