Opportunities for Improving Physical Education’s Impact on Public Health

James F. SallisSan 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

49%

35%

10%

3.4%

10%5.4%

0%

20%

40%

60%

6-11 12-15 16-19

Age

Percentage of youth ages 6-19 meeting 60 min/day physical activity guidelines.

Based on accelerometers. NHANES 2003-4

Males

Females

Troiano, MSSE 2007

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 MVPAby school level in 77 CA schools. (Toni Yancey)

20.6%26.7%

31.4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

% o

f cl

ass

tim

e P

A≥

3

Elem M.S H.S. School LevelThe 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

Percent (%) of time in MVPA, by percent % of students eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL)

43%

34%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0-74% 75-100%

Percent (%) of students eligible for FRPL

Per

cen

t (%

) o

f P

E t

ime

in M

VP

A

Relation between PE Quality (%class time in MVPA) & API Score in High & Low SES Schools

>=75%<35%

%FRPL 3yr avg

800.0

750.0

700.0

650.0

600.0

550.0

500.0

Me

an

3 y

ea

r a

vg

AP

I s

co

re

617.7

750.3

584.2

702.9

50+ min/wk

0-49 min/wk

Min. PE-MVPA/wk dichot

n=4

n=6

n=3n=2

% PE class time in MVPA by % FRPL-eligible & by district avg. Fitnessgram score

29.6%

39.9%

low fitnessgram

districts, 21.2%

33.4%

low fitnessgram

districts, 14.4%

29.7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

% c

lass

tim

e in

MV

PA

0-33% FRPL 34-66% FRPL 67-100% FRPL

low fitnessgram districts 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: evidence-based 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