Behavioral and Social Approaches to Increase Physical Activity: Enhanced School-Based Physical Education

Task Force Finding*

These interventions involve modifying curricula and policies to increase the amount of time students spend in moderate to vigorous activity while in PE classes. Increasing the amount of time students are active can be achieved either by increasing the amount of time spent in PE class or increasing the amount of time students are active during already scheduled PE classes. Interventions in this review included changing the activities taught (e.g., substituting soccer for softball) and modifying the rules of the game so that students are more active (e.g., having the entire team run the bases together when the batter makes a base hit).

School-based PE is strongly recommended because of its effectiveness in increasing physical activity and improving physical fitness among adolescents and children. Other positive effects associated with school-based PE are increases in physical activity knowledge and increases in muscular endurance. One potential harm suggested in the literature is that PE classes could take away from the time that schools can devote to academic subjects, thereby harming academic performance. Examination of these studies and a systematic search for other studies of the effects of PE on academic performance found no evidence of this harm. No qualifying economic information was identified from the literature.

*From the following publication:

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations to increase physical activity in communities. [PDF - 70KB] Am J Prev Med 2002;22 (4S):67-72.

Review completed: October 2000