Physical activity (PA) policies have the potential to ensure adequate opportunities for children to develop PA behaviors for a lifetime. Examples include mandating that schools provide recess and physical education for a specified amount of time per week; ensuring that physical education teachers are licensed; providing activity breaks in academic…

This 'teaching tip' shares the success of a service-learning opportunity created to work with university students in a meaningful way in the community. It describes a program called Fit 4 Tots that resulted in more toddlers, university students and community members benefiting from learning and movement experiences.

Many adolescents lack the requisite physical preparation for sport participation and PA. Multi-sport participation and resistance training during youth (age 5-11) and adolescence (age 12-17) years can positively affect physical activity levels, health outcomes, and promote long-term athletic development (LTAD). The National Strength and…

No one-size-fits-all strategy works to increase physical activity (PA) at schools. To realize success, practitioners need flexible PA programs to support the multi-component comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) approach. Walk/run programs have the potential to provide this flexibility, and some have demonstrated increased…

Increasing physical activity opportunities in schools has emerged as a global priority among school-aged youth. As a result, many countries have designed and implemented whole-of-school physical activity initiatives that seek to increase physical activity opportunities that are available to school-aged children before, during, and after school.…

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAPs) have been identified as an intervention toward improving physical activity opportunities for youth throughout the school day. One of the five elements of a CSPAP is afterschool programming. This paper translates the varied research about youth engagement in physical activity into a…

Schools have been identified as a promising setting for increasing youth physical activity levels because of their broad reach and the amount of time youth spend in attendance. Specifically, physical education is one key time during the school day where youth can accumulate health-enhancing levels of physical activity. Indicators of quality…

During the past decade, physical education has gone through some tough times. Between increased pressures to succeed on standardized testing, which has resulted in increased classroom time and decreased time in the gym, and tight budgets, children are not getting the quality physical education they deserve. The "2012 Shape of the Nation…

Many efforts to increase the physical activity levels of Americans have been introduced and implemented over the past 20 years. National Physical Activity Guidelines have been established, and the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) is now in place, which includes a specific sector dedicated to education. This article addresses the Education…

In response to concerns that children are physically inactive, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee developed school-based implementation strategies centered on the components of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP), composed of the physical education program, physical activity during the school day, staff…

As mentioned in the introduction, Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programs and physical education teachers will need to identify and resolve the tensions of shifting from a traditional role of a self-contained physical education program to that of an expanding role of physical education that supports lifelong physical activity in…

The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identify 34% of American adults as obese and another 33% as overweight. Since children tend to mimic adult behavior, adults not only hurt themselves when they practice poor eating and exercise habits, they also hurt their children. With only one-third of adults modeling…

Implementation of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 will provide an opportunity for school nurses to intervene in the serious childhood obesity problem in the United States. Major changes in the management of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) will likely challenge schools yet may provide the impetus for a collaborative effort by the…

In 2007, the physical education program at Sunnyside Middle School in Lafayette, Indiana, was in constant flux. Teacher turnover occurred annually, facilities were subpar, the curriculum was outdated, opportunities for professional development were rare, and most importantly, students lacked maximum movement opportunities in physical education. In…

Schools are expected to lead in physical activity promotion for youths. Specifically, physical educators are being asked to take on the role of the school physical activity director (PAD) and implement a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP). Quality physical education, classroom-based physical activity, recess and other activity…