Physical Activity

Physical Education Statement Paper

Did you know that there are guidelines now that allow elementary school students to take as little as one physical education class a week and only 8% of the district's elementary schools have daily recess?   In St. Lucie County, elementary school students attend 45-minute physical education classes once or twice a week, and a maximum of 10 minutes of recess on the days without physical education classes.  
People, it's time to take action. Are you aware of the current status of physical education at your child's school?   With physical activity at an all-time low and obesity reaching large proportions, our children face an unhealthy future.   For the first time, health experts believe life expectancy may actually be shorter for later generations, unless major changes in lifestyle occur.   In a statistic from one of Florida's top high schools, they are reporting that 26.4 % of the students in the school are considered fat, yet nobody sees a reason to increase physical education time.  
During the last two decades, the percentage of overweight children between the ages of 6 and 11 has almost doubled.   For students around the ages 12 to 19, the number has nearly tripled, from 5-14 %.   Meanwhile, the number of children participating in daily physical education classes has dropped by more than one-third, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  
Research suggests that regular physical activity, begun in childhood, may help prevent degenerative diseases as well.   According to researchers, the need for physical activity for a growing child is shown in terms of growth and fitness needs.   Physical activity increases muscle tone, improves respiration and circulation, and stimulates proper growth and development, and again most of all aides in controlling obesity.   Studies show that high school students involved in an eight-week program of physical activity showed gains in fitness.
So parents, administrators,... [continues]

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