PHYSICAL EDUCATION IMPORTANCE
Children spend the majority of their day in school. Therefore, school's have a great opportunity to help students with their physical fitness and well being. Physical Education is the best way to accomplish this.
Please browse the following segments to learn more about the importance of physical education.
DISEASE PREVENTION
Exercising is very important in reducing your risk of many diseases. Some examples include:
Obesity
High Blood Pressure
Type 2 Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Children are becoming more and more susceptible to these diseases through their lifestyles outside of school. Physical Education is mandatory to combat this. Children create healthy habits from what they are exposed to as a child, so if they are used to exercising 30 minutes a day in gym class, they are more likely to continue to do so after school is over.
A piece of data to support this is that the CDC recommends constant physical activity to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
LIFETIME WELLNESS
It has been proven that exercising is an important factor to improving the quality of life. This is true because exercise boosts self esteem and confidence in a child. This can help with social relationships and managing depression. Therefore, Physical Education is a great way for children to boost their quality of life.
A piece of data that supports this is a study done by the Primary Care Companion which showed that 30 minutes of exercise a day decreased depression in children.
OBESITY PREVENTION
Children (and adults) today are obese in greater numbers than we have ever seen. This is partially caused by the lack of exercise in today's sedentary lifestyles. Physical Education in schools is a great way to ensure that all children are staying active on a daily basis, and get the recommended amount of exercise per week.
A piece of data from Medical Daily shows that 60 minutes of Physical Education classes per week can reduce childhood obesity by nearly 5%.
SELF MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Every subject in school serves a purpose to teach a lifelong lesson. Physical Education is no different. The purpose of Physical Education is to teach students healthy habits that they can use for the rest of their lives. Not to mention that it also teaches students how to work on a team, set and achieve goals, and interact with their peers.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Exercise has been proven to enhance academic performance in subjects such as math, reading, and writing. Physical Education is a great way to incorporate exercise into a child's day. There is a positive relationship between academic performance and exercise, so Physical Education is important to keep students focused and working hard in other school subjects. The results are mostly due to the fact that children focus better on their academics after exercise. Therefore, Physical Education improves concentration, attention, and memory. Because of this, Physical Education can also positively contribute to higher standardized test scores.
A piece of data supporting this fact is found from an article by Jennifer L. Koch titled "Linking Physical Activity with Academics," which cites a study done on two elementary students. One group of students engaged in 50 minutes of physical activity, and one did not. The group that participated in physical activity scored higher on their standarized tests.