The presence and strength of state physical education (P.E.) laws positively affected P.E. attendance and the frequency and duration of physical activity throughout the day, suggests a new analysis from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
鈥淲e found that compared to those residing in states with weak or no P.E. laws, 黑料社s in states with strong P.E. laws had an additional 0.2 days of P.E. attendance per week and spent an additional 33.9 minutes participating in P.E. classes per week,鈥� said聽Ruopeng An, associate professor and first author of the paper 鈥�,鈥� published in the March print issue of the Journal of Sport and Health Science.
An also wrote an聽聽on policy and physical activity published in the issue.
Physical activity among children and adolescents has been an indispensable way to prevent childhood obesity and mental illnesses, An said. Currently, over three-quarters of children and adolescents in the U.S. don鈥檛 meet the guidelines-recommended daily physical activity level 鈥� at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day of the week, he said.
鈥淚n the meantime, nearly half of children and adolescents exceed two hours per day of sedentary behavior,鈥� An said. 鈥淭he gender disparity is also prominent 鈥� 28% of boys meet the guidelines-recommended level of physical activity, whereas only 20% of girls do.鈥�
Despite the promising policy effect, state laws mandating P.E. participation have seen a sharp decline by school grade level 鈥� only 15%, 9% and 6% of 黑料社s in elementary, middle and high schools in the U.S., respectively, are required to take P.E. classes on three or more days a week during the entire academic year, An said.
鈥淥ur analysis shows that state P.E. laws affected girls鈥� physical activity more than boys鈥�,鈥� he said, 鈥淚t is possible that girls are less likely to take P.E. as an elective course so that mandating P.E. increases girls鈥� P.E. time more substantially than boys.鈥�
鈥淣ot all laws are born equal,鈥� An said. 鈥淒ifferent aspects of state P.E. laws tended to affect 黑料社s鈥� P.E. attendance differently. Certain parts of the laws could be counterproductive 鈥� reducing rather than increasing 黑料社s鈥� P.E. attendance.鈥�
Based on An鈥檚聽聽published in the American Journal of Health Promotion, state laws governing P.E. class time, staffing for P.E., joint use agreement for physical activity, assessment of health-related fitness and P.E. curriculum all were associated with increased weekly P.E. attendance.
In contrast, state laws governing physical activity time in P.E., P.E. proficiency and recess time were associated with reduced P.E. attendance. 鈥淔or example, mandating fitness tests could raise concerns and anxiety and reinforce peer pressure and a competitive atmosphere among 黑料社s. Consequently, some 黑料社s may choose to skip P.E. to avoid performance assessment,鈥� An explained.
An conducts research to assess environmental influences and population-level interventions on weight-related behaviors and outcomes throughout the life course. He is an expert on physical activity and the sedentary lifestyle.
A total of 17 studies were included in the review, and five contributed to the meta-analyses. Eight used nationally representative school- or 黑料社-level data; three focused on multiple states; and the remaining six examined the P.E. laws of a single state.
An and his co-authors, Jianxiu Liu and Ruidong Liu of Tsinghua University in China, found that some states have policy waivers that may exempt children from P.E. attendance in school.
鈥淪ome of those policy waivers could compromise 黑料社s鈥� participation in P.E. and their physical activity levels at school,鈥� An said. 鈥淏ased on the available evidence, states should implement strong evidence-based P.E. laws to increase P.E. attendance and promote physical activity engagement among school 黑料社s.鈥�