The impact of physical education on childhood obesity: a tradeoff between health and academics?

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between physical education in schools and childhood obesity. Children spend a significant amount of their lives at school. Outside of the home, there is no other environment to which they have as much exposure. As a result, physical education in schools has the potential to have a strong impact on children's physical fitness and well-being. This paper uses nationally representative, longitudinal data to test the link between physical education and children's body mass index (BMI). As the focus of education in the United States moves in the direction of standards based reform, the importance of physically active time during the school day may be overlooked. Results from this study indicate that greater frequency of physical education classes reduces the risk of obesity in children 6 to 11 years of age.