Opportunities for Improving
Physical Education’s Impact on
Public Health
James F. Sallis
San Diego State University
www.drjamessallis.sdsu.edu
20 years later—how can we do better?
• Celebrate our accomplishments but resolve to
improve PE for all
• Remaining barriers to improving PE
– PE & public health still do not share goals for active PE
– We don’t know what is happening in PE classes
– There are disparities in PE
• I propose pathways toward solutions for each of
these
Percentage of youth ages 6-19 meeting 60 min/day
physical activity guidelines.
Based on accelerometers. NHANES 2003-4
60%
49%
40%
35%
20%
10%
10%
3.4%
5.4%
0%
6-11
Troiano, MSSE 2007
12-15
Age
16-19
Males
Females
PE & public health still do not share goals
• Public health has embraced PE
– IOM, CDC, CPPW, RWJF, The First Lady are your friends.
They all want active PE
• Education groups do not support PE
– NCLB was a disaster for PE
– Prospects for PE/PA in reauthorization are not good
– PEP grants are essentially gone
• Education & PE groups do not support active PE
– Only 6 states have policies requiring 50% MVPA in PE
classes. No states provide funding or accountability
PE & public health still do not share goals
• The Virginia case study
– Both houses of the Virginia legislature passed a law
requiring schools to provide 150 min of PA weekly
as part of the fight against childhood obesity
– Education groups fought against the bill; health
groups fought for it
– On March 24, Gov McDonnell used his first veto on
this bill
– “Gov’t cannot just pass legislation and make this
problem go away. Kids need to get off the couch”
PE & public health still do not share goals
• What can we do?
– NASPE and CDC work together to set goals for 50%
MVPA in PE and to achieve other goals through
activity
– PE and public health work together to pass more state
laws requiring active PE. This requires bringing
education, PE, & health leaders together. California
Endowment is pursuing this.
– Public health agencies provide partial funding to
improve PA in PE. Justified because health would
benefit.
• Could happen through Community Transformation Grants.
We do not know what is happening in
PE classes
• We have never had a national study of PE
practices
• Teacher or administrator reports of MVPA time
are not credible
• We have the methods—observation, sensors
• The study would need to include analysis of
resources for PE
– Teachers, training, equipment, facilities, class size
• Also, teachers need to be able to assess MVPA
Avg. amount of PE class time in MVPA
by school level in 77 CA schools. (Toni Yancey)
% of class time PA≥3
60%
50%
31.4%
40%
30%
26.7%
20.6%
20%
10%
0%
Elem
M.S
H.S.
School Level
The amount of P.E. class time that students were physically active
was slightly higher in higher grades but there was a great
variation within each school level.
We do not know what is happening in
PE classes
• What can we do?
– CDC leaders want to do a national PE study. They
just need to find the funds. Encourage them.
– Teachers need tools to know if their kids are active
enough in class.
– Phil Scruggs showed that simple pedometers can
be used to monitor MVPA in PE classes. This is a
feasible method for accountability. Start a
grassroots movement to use them. Share
experiences on PE Central.
There are disparities in PE
• The same schools with low MVPA in PE also
have
– Lower academic achievement
– Higher obesity
• Perhaps improved PE can be a partial solution
for several problems
PE classes in lower income schools spend less
time being active.
Toni Yancey. www.calendow.org
Pe rc ent (%) of PE time in MVPA
Percent (%) of time in MVPA,
by percent % of students eligible for
Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL)
50%
40%
43%
30%
34%
20%
10%
0%
0-74%
75-100%
Percent (%) of students eligible for FRPL
Relation between PE Quality (%class time in MVPA)
& API Score in High & Low SES Schools
800.0
Min. PE-MVPA/wk
dichot
0-49 min/wk
50+ min/wk
Mean 3 year avg API score
750.0
700.0
650.0
750.3
600.0
702.9
n=6
n=4
617.7
550.0
584.2
n=2
n=3
500.0
<35%
>=75%
%FRPL 3yr avg
% PE class time in MVPA by % FRPL-eligible
& by district avg. Fitnessgram score
50%
% class time in MVPA
39.9%
40%
33.4%
29.6%
low
fitnessgram
districts,
21.2%
30%
20%
10%
29.7%
low
fitnessgram
districts,
14.4%
0%
0-33% FRPL
34-66% FRPL
low fitnessgram districts
67-100% FRPL
high fitnessgram districts
There are disparities in PE
• What can we do?
– If we can bring back PEP grants, target them to
schools of high need
– Target state PE funds to schools of high need
– Build capacity for low-resource schools to apply
for grants and fund-raise for PE
Reasons for optimism
• Concerns about childhood obesity are getting
us closer to action
• Strong interest in PE among public health
groups
• We know how to make PE active: evidencebased programs
• Possible funding & changed incentives
through Affordable Care Act
Here is my plea
• PE and public health fields join together in
demanding active PE
• Document MVPA in classes, schools, and in a
national study
• Start improvements in schools with high need
• Organize advocacy at district, state, federal
levels
• Get parents angry and then involved
• Support kids to testify to decision makers
Who Can Say “No” To These Children Asking for Better PE?
Resources at www.activelivingresearch.org