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NEW SURVEY SHOWS SCHOOLS ARE NOT PROVIDING THE AMOUNT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION PARENTS WANT!
ORLANDO, FL, March 22, 2000 -- Eighty-one percent of parents with children in elementary, middle and high schools want their kids to receive daily physical activity, but only 44 percent of them are receiving it, reports a new opinion survey commissioned by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). The results were released today at a press conference as part of the annual convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).
Carl Gabbard, NASPE President and a professor of physical education at Texas A&M University, said "Unfortunately, most school districts across the nation are not living up to parental expectations or public health requirements. Indeed, five percent of children receive no physical education at all. It is no wonder why obesity rates are soaring."
Adults Are Out of Step With Health Needs
"Our survey showed 60% of parents believe they get enough exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle, however, the heart disease, diabetes and certain cancer rates associated with obesity continue to rise. In 1996, the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health showed that 60% of adults are not getting enough physical activity. Our survey named such barriers as childcare (38%), their job (33%), lack of interest (27%), not enough time (19%), and health problems (13%). The schools must play a more important role in teaching our children how to stay fit, giving the skills and confidence our children need to be physically active," he said.
"Not surprising to those of us who have kids, parents and their children disagree about what prevents them from getting enough exercise. Parents believe their kids lack interest, do not have enough time or spend too much time watching television (57%). or playing computer games (59%). Their kids, on the other hand, say they do not have the time (24%), spend too much time doing homework (19%) or lack interest (13%)."
The majority of adults report that they set limits on the time their children spend doing certain activities, such as playing video games or playing on the computer and television watching.
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., who is scheduled to address the convention participants, said, "I am alarmed by the trend we have seen over the last 20 years of decreasing physical education requirements in public schools across the country. As a nation, we are becoming increasingly less active in our lifestyles --- at home, at school and at work. Prevention is the key to the future. We must learn how to prevent obesity and promote healthy lifestyles. Our schools have a responsibility to educate both minds and bodies."
The survey, which was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation International of Princeton, NJ, is based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,017 adults (18 years of age and older, 50% male/50% female) and 500 teens, ages 12-17. The margin of error for the adult sample is + or -- 3 percentage points; when broken into subgroups (those with children in the household) the margin of error is + or -- 6 percentage points. The margin of error for the teen sample is + or -- 4 percentage points. Phone interviews were conducted from February 3-7, 2000.
Information about the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) can be found on the Internet at http://www.aahperd.org/naspe, the web site of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD). NASPE is the largest of AAHPERD's six national associations. A nonprofit membership organization of over 25,000 professionals in the fitness and physical activity fields, NASPE is the only national association dedicated to strengthening basic knowledge about sport and physical education among professionals and the general public. Putting that knowledge into action in schools and communities across the nation is critical to improved academic performance, social reform and the health of individuals.
This survey was funded with an unrestricted research grant from the National Soft Drink Association.
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