July 28, 1997
Contact: Louise Snider, 619/594-5204
What do Dick and Jane do in gym? Not much, says an SDSU study.
SAN DIEGO-- Parents who visit their child’s physical education class will probably be disappointed by what they see. Students often spend only three minutes, less than 10 percent of class time, on moderate to vigorous physical activity per class.
This finding comes at a time when there is growing concern in this country about the number of children who are overweight due to lack of physical activity. Yet, 97 percent of elementary school students take physical education classes, considered the primary venue for developing children’s physical fitness and skills.
Why aren’t many of these classes meeting expectations? A recent study indicates most of them aren’t vigorous enough to contribute to children’s fitness, nor do they promote enough health-related activities outside of school.
Although the study, published today in the "American Journal of Public Health," highlights the deficiencies in typical physical education classes, it is optimistic about the potential for improvement through introduction of a practical program currently operating in 300 schools across the country.
The program, known as SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids), was developed by James Sallis, professor of psychology, and Thomas McKenzie, professor of exercise and nutritional sciences, at San Diego State University. SPARK was designed to increase children’s physical activity, cardiovascular fitness, and movement skills through active physical education classes. A SPARK softball game, for example, would involve every student in each play by having the whole team run around the bases. Another component of the program emphasizes good nutrition and developing lifelong healthy habits.
Sallis and McKenzie, with co-authors John E. Alcaraz, Bohdan Kolody, and Melbourne F. Hovell of SDSU and Nell Faucette of the University of South Florida, report the outcomes of SPARK after two years of use in fourth- and fifth-grade physical education classes at seven schools in Poway, California, a suburb of San Diego.
The schools were assigned to one of three conditions: P.E. classes led by certified physical education specialists who implemented the SPARK program; P.E. classes led by regular classroom teachers trained to implement the SPARK program; P.E. classes taught as usual by regular classroom teachers. This latter constituted the control group.
The researchers found that students were physically active 40 minutes per week in the specialist-led classes, 33 minutes per week in the teacher-trained classes, and 18 minutes per week in the control group.
The largest fitness gains were among girls in the specialist-led classes. They showed significant improvement in mile-run times and sit-ups per minute. This is important because girls tend to have lower fitness levels than boys, and the SPARK program helps them catch up.
Although students in the specialist-led classes engaged in the most physical activity and showed the most gains, those in the trained teacher-led classes also benefited more than those in the control groups. The results, say the study’s authors, show that elementary physical education can be measurably improved with a program that is feasible in real-world settings.
The developers of the SPARK program are now using the results of this study to improve physical education across the country, and Paul Rosengard, executive director of the program, is heading an effort to train teachers to use SPARK.
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For further details about the study, contact:
Dr. James F. Sallis
Phone: 619/594-4816
Fax: 619/594-8707
Email: sallis@mail.sdsu.edu
For information about SPARK, contact:
Mr. Paul Rosengard
Phone: 1-800-SPARKPE
Email: rosengar@mail.sdsu.edu
http://www.foundation.sdsu.edu/projects/spark/index.html