The Need to Increase Physical Activity During the Elementary and Middle School Years

Despite evidence linking physical activity during childhood to later health outcomes, physical education programs in elementary and middle schools have slowly been eroded during the past two decades. Many educators and parents believe that the time and money spent on physical activity during school hours might be better spent on academic pursuits. This Brief provides a summary of three relevant longitudinal studies, and a recent study by Tremblay, Inman, and Willms (in press) which examined the relationships among children’s self-esteem, levels of physical activity, body-mass index, and academic achievement. The data were collected from the full population of grade 6 students in New Brunswick in 1996, as part of the Elementary School Climate Study. The findings indicate that the concern that physical activity has a deleterious effect on achievement is not well founded. Moreover, increased physical activity has important positive effects on self-esteem and physical health, which in the longer term may contribute to academic success. ▸ The leading cause of death in Canada is heart disease. Three of the most important modifiable risk factors for heart disease are poor nutrition, smoking, and a lack of physical activity. The evidence linking physical activity and health is stronger for adults than for children; however, the likelihood of being active as an adult is influenced by habits established during childhood.