Physical education should be considered a basic component of education since it contributes to the total development of the individual. However, physical education objectives have not been reached, in spite of research supporting the goals and a large percentage of students participating in physical education programs. (JN)

Six questions about performance and performance courses for the physical education major are: (1) skills and abilities possessed by physical education majors; (2) entry standards; (3) performance versus professional application; (4) relationship between professional education and performance courses; (5) relationship between disciplinary study and…

Cardiovascular endurance is defined as the ability of the heart, lungs, and circulatory system to provide the cells of the body with the necessary substances to perform work for extended periods of time. People beginning such a program need to have an understanding of warming-up, intensity, duration, and frequency of an exercise program. (JN)

Among the findings were that hyperactive Ss on placebo showed lower rates of task attention and higher rates of gross motor movement, regular and negative verbalization, noise making, physical contact, social initiation, and other responses than did normal Ss and hyperactive Ss on Ritalin. (Author/DLS)

Examined the effects of a physical activity program on low-fit 8- to 11-year-old children's activity, mile-run time, and average heart rate. Found that following the program participants were in their target heart rate zone 64% of the time and that mile-run times improved significantly from pre- to posttest. (Author)

Examined whether stages of change of exercise adoption appropriately addressed strenuous, moderate, and mild intensities of physical activity. Secondary analysis of four data sets (adolescents, college students, adults, and seniors) investigated transtheoretical model constructs for exercise adoption. Results supported the construct validity of…

Developed a valid, reliable physical education teachers' physical activity self-efficacy scale for teaching classes in which students were engaged in high levels of physical activity. Results offer preliminary support for the psychometric properties of this instrument, which can help understand physical education teachers' efficacy in overcoming…

Investigated the independent and combined effects of cardiorespiratory fitness and obesity on all-cause cancer mortality for women and men. Data from the Lipids Research Clinics Prevalence Study indicated that higher fitness level was a stronger predictor of reduced cancer mortality among men, while high body mass index was a stronger predictor of…

Tested the hypothesis that physical training (PT), especially high-intensity PT, would favorably affect components of the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) in obese adolescents. Data on teens randomized into lifestyle education (LSE) alone, LSE plus moderate -intensity PT, and LSE plus high-intensity PT indicated that PT, especially high-intensity…

A study tested whether four students with mental retardation would substitute task-related behaviors for stereotypic behaviors when opportunity for active responding did or did not match level of motoric responding in a free-operant baseline. Students did substitute behaviors, with stereotypic behaviors occurring 1.5-14 times as much in the…

Emphasizing cardiovascular fitness may be a barrier to mobilizing the sedentary individual. Instead, encouraging low-level physical activity may be an effective first step. Beliefs held toward cardiovascular fitness are presented, and ways in which these beliefs may present barriers to adoption of any level of physical activity are discussed. (IAH)

Eleven photographs confirm that permitting ergonomic options of foot placement and body posture pays off in improved student attention. (MLF)

Provides practical guidelines for a strength training program for cardiac patients which may be modified to fit a particular program. The recommendations include criteria for admission, procedures for orientation and instruction, and techniques for supervision. (SM)

Examined body image satisfaction in Turkish adolescents. Findings from 269 female and 286 male secondary school students revealed that males were more satisfied with their bodies than were females, early-maturing males and late-maturing females had higher levels of body image satisfaction, and participants in physical activities were more…

Studied 7,018 children between birth and 7 years and 81 children of 5-8 years to test the hypothesis that birth order is negatively related to motor activity level. Activity level declined linearly across birth position, so that early-borns were rated as more active than later-borns. (RJC)