Institute of Medicine Physical
Activity, Academic Performance,
and Equal Justice; NY Times
Editorial
The Institute of Medicine’s Standing Committee on Childhood
Obesity Prevention will host “Creating Equal Opportunities for a
Healthy Weight – A Workshop” on June 6 and 7, 2013.
A report by the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academy of
Sciences, documents that physically fit students do better
academically. This is common sense, and it is documented by social
science evidence. This is what the best schools can provide when
money is no object. Yet half the schools in California audited from
2004 to 2009 do not enforce physical education requirements. The
California Court of Appeal has ruled that the law means what it says,
and parents and students have the right to seek access to justice
through the courts when districts fail to comply with physical education
requirements.
Students of color and low income students disproportionately suffer
first and worst because if they do not get physical education in school,
they do not engage in physical activity. They often lack places for
physical activity in parks where they live, and school yards are often
locked after school and on weekends. Elementary school students in
districts that did not comply with the minutes requirements were more
likely to be Hispanic or black, and less likely to be white or Asian.
Schools in compliant districts included fewer low income students,
according to a 2012 study.
California voters are in “nearly unanimous agreement” (97%) that it is
important for schools to encourage more physical activity during the
school day, according to a 2012 Field poll. In addition, three in four
(74%) think that providing kids with more physical activity during
regular school hours will also have a positive effect on academic
achievement. Large majorities believe public investments aimed at
keeping people healthy pay for themselves in the long run by
preventing disease and reducing health care costs (73%), and think
that a comprehensive program to prevent childhood obesity would be
worth it even if it increased government spending by billions of dollars
(68%). Californians favor physical education in schools as the single
most important policy for obesity prevention, across most party and
socioeconomic lines. 89% support requiring physical education classes
for four years in high school, according to a 2011 Field poll.
The Institute of Medicine report recommends: “Federal, state,
district, and local education administrators should ensure that
programs and policies at all levels address existing disparities
in physical activity and that all students at all schools have
equal access to appropriate facilities and opportunities for
physical activity and quality physical education.” The City Project
has addressed equal access to physical education for the Institute of
Medicine. See Robert Garcia, Physical Activity as a Civil Rights Issue,
in Institute of Medicine, Legal Strategies in Childhood Obesity
Prevention (Lynn Parker et al., eds. 2011), goo.gl/4DakL. Robert
Garcia will speak June 6 at the IOM workshop above on Creating Equal
Opportunities for a Healthy Weight.
In addition, the report presents the following recommendations for
education officials as well as parents, teachers, urban planners, and
others:
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Taking a whole-school approach, with physical education that
includes at least half the class-time engaged in vigorous or
moderate physical activity (MVPA)
Physical activity should be considered in all school policy
decisions to improve academic performance, health, and
development for all children
Physical education should be a core subject because it provides a
foundation for lifelong health and learning
Physical education and activity should be monitored in school
Teachers should receive training and ongoing professional
development in physical education, including K-12 classroom and
physical education teachers.
The City Project with the teachers’ union UTLA (United Teachers of Los
Angeles) and our community allies have been working to ensure all
students have the right to quality physical education under federal and
state equal protection and education laws in the Los Angeles Unified
School District. While we have made progress, opportunities remain to
make this right a reality for all the children of California and the
nation.
A New York Times editorial endorses the recommendations of the IOM
report in an editorial (although the Times pointedly omits any mention
of equal access to physical education):
As schools everywhere strive to improve the academic performance of
their students, many have cut physical education and recess periods to
leave more time for sedentary classroom instruction. A sensible new
report from the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academy
of Sciences, shows how shortsighted this trend can be. It found that
exercise can significantly improve children’s cognitive abilities and
their academic performance, as well as their health.
Students who exercise have lower body fat, greater muscular strength,
and better cardiovascular and mental health. While admitting that the
studies are limited, a panel of experts assembled by the institute says
that “a growing body of evidence” suggests children who are more
active are better able to focus their attention, are quicker to perform
simple tasks, and have better working memories and problem solving
skills than less-active children. They also perform better on
standardized academic tests.
Academic performance is influenced by factors like parental
involvement and socioeconomic status, but the panel reported that
active children tended to have stronger performance, especially in
reading and mathematics. It believes that the benefits of exercise
during the school day outweigh the benefits from increasing class
time.
The report recommends that all students get at least 60 minutes a day
of vigorous or moderate physical activity, equivalent to a brisk walk.
Only about half of all school-age children meet this guideline,
according to the panel. The way to increase exercise is to promote
physical education classes, recess and classroom breaks during the
school day; encouraging after-school sports and walking or biking to
school when feasible would also help. Physical activity should be a core
educational concern, not a dispensable option.
Click here for the IOM report Educating the Student Body: Taking
Physical Activity and Physical Education to School.