Participation in physical education and physical activity in U.S. elementary schools

Background and Significance: Recent figures show 17.1% of children and adolescents are overweight. Research shows regular physical activity, including school-based physical education (PE), reduces risk for the development of overweight among youth. Methodology: Data on physical education and other physical activity-related activities were taken from a 2007 nationally representative sample of elementary schools. Surveys were received from 837 schools representing a 57.7% response rate (578 public schools and 259 private schools). Analyses were run with unweighted data and differences in school demographic and socioeconomic characteristics were examined. Findings: Preliminary results showed 94.6% of schools reported that elementary students are required to take PE classes. However, only 14.9% of schools had PE daily, 19% offered PE 3 or 4 times a week, and 60.4% only offered PE 1 or 2 times a week. The mean length for a PE class was 39.3 minutes with the majority of respondents indicating that students were active for at least 75% of the class. Eighty-six percent of the schools reported having recess 5 days per week for an average of 27.8 minutes (SD = 15.4). No significant differences were found between public and private schools. However significant differences in daily recess and parental interest in improving physical activity practices were found among lower vs. higher free/reduced lunch representation in public schools. Conclusions: Although most schools require physical education, we found significant differences in physical activity opportunities by socioeconomic status indicating a need to improve physical education and physical activity policies and programs in elementary schools.