This week is National Physical Education and Sport Week. Below, we've shared a statement from the CDC about the benefits of regular physical activity:
Helps build and maintain healthy bones and muscles.
Helps reduce the risk of developing obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and colon cancer.
Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety and promotes psychological well-being.
May help improve students’ academic performance, including
Academic achievement and grades
Academic behavior, such as time on task
Factors that influence academic achievement, such as concentration and attentiveness in the classroom.
Despite these many benefits, schools have been decreasing the requirements for physical education (outside of UIL and sports), and a lot have done away with recess. With the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act, school budgets have been cut and focus has shifted to teaching students how to improve their ability to take standardized tests. A recent study has found that only 6 states currently have physical education requirement. Below is a chart from sparkpe.org that show some of the effects of budgets cuts in schools:
To help advocate for Physical Education, you can visit sparke.org or shapeamerica.org. To advocate for recess in schools, visit American Association for Children's Right to Play and find your state's advocates.