Arnold School of Public Health

AHA Policy, Practice Recommendations

1. Schools should ensure that all children and youth participate in a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during the school day, plus have the option of extra-curricular and school-linked community programs.

2. Schools should deliver evidence-based, health-related PE programs that meet national standards to students at all school levels. These programs should include moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 50 percent of class time and teach students the motor and behavioral skills needed to engage in lifelong physical activity.

3. States and school districts should ensure that PE is taught by certified and highly qualified PE teachers at all school levels.

4. States should hold schools accountable for delivering PE programs that meet national standards for quality and quantity, including age-appropriate amounts of time per week spent active during class. Each state should include physical education in its core curriculum and instructional quality.

5. Schools should provide clubs, lessons, intramural sports and interscholastic sports programs that meet the physical activity needs and interests of all students.

6. Schools should promote walking and bicycling to school. School leaders should work with local government to ensure safe routes to school.

7. Child development centers and elementary schools should provide children with at least 30 minutes of recess each day.

8. Schools should provide evidence-based health education programs that emphasize behavioral skills to increase physical activity and decrease sedentary behaviors.

9. Colleges and universities should provide programs that produce teachers who are highly qualified to deliver PE and health-education programs.

Published in “Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association"

The American Heart Association is calling for schools to lead the way to ensure that all children and youth participate in adequate physical activity during the school day.

The group is releasing a scientific statement, “Promoting Physical Activity in Children and Youth: A Leadership Role for Schools,” in the
current issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Children and youth spend a substantial number of their waking hours in school, so it’s important that schools provide adequate physical activity,” said Dr. Russell R. Pate, chair of the writing group for the AHA recommendations and a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health.

Although schools are under pressure to increase student scores on standardized tests, the dramatic rise in the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents in the United States suggests that the nation’s schools must systematically and effectively promote behaviors that will prevent students from becoming overweight or obese, the paper’s authors said.

During the past 20 years, obesity rates in U.S. children and youth have increased markedly. Among children ages 6 - 11, 31.2 percent are overweight or at risk for being overweight. Among adolescents ages 12-19, 30.9 percent are overweight or at risk for being overweight.

While most states require minimal amounts of physical education (PE) for students -- and daily PE is recommended by many groups -- the rapid increase in obesity in young people has occurred at the same time as other alarming trends:

“It’s important that kids adopt active lifestyles,” Pate said. “The list of negative health
outcomes associated with physical inactivity – including heart disease and type 2 diabetes – is growing.”

The scientific statement takes a comprehensive look at the state of physical education, from the amount of time students should be active each week to enhancements in the college education of (PE) teachers.

“It doesn’t mean backing down on academics – it’s not an either/or thing,” Pate said. “A balanced academic program should include PE and should also incorporate strategies to increase physical activity throughout the school day. Physical activity shouldn’t stop at PE class.”

The American Heart Association is working to curb the rise in childhood obesity. In addition to the new scientific statement, the association is lobbying in every state to require that quality, daily PE be offered in all grades, that schools adhere to national PE standards for elementary- and middle-school students and that PE be required for high school graduation.

The American Heart Association also has partnered with the William J. Clinton Foundation to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The alliance aims to stop the increase in childhood obesity by 2010 and help youth choose healthy lifestyles.