State laws for time spent in Physical education and its relationship with adolescent weight status

This study examined the relationship between state-laws for time spent in school physical education (PE) class and adolescent weight status. Data from the National Cancer Institute's Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (C.L.A.S.S.) website including the 2005 PERSPCS data and the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health were merged for this time-lagged analysis. A total of 24,869 middle school students were included in the analysis from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. State laws for school PE were coded in the PERSPCS system following NASPE guidelines for PE time. States were assigned a 0 for no PE time requirements or recommendations for PE time requirements and a 1 for stringent laws with specific requirements for PE minutes per week ranging from <90 up to ≥ 150 or <225 minutes per week. Weight status was determined by BMI overweight/obese criteria. Preliminary, bivariate analyses found an inverse relationship between weight status (r=-0.14, p<0.05) and stringency of PE time state laws and that the relationship between state law and weight status was significant among Black students (r=-0.51, p<0.001), but not significant among Whites students (r=-.004, p=0.57). Limitations of this analysis include parent-report BMI and the complex energy balance relationship between activity and caloric intake during and after school hours. However, results from this analysis suggest policy, specifically state laws and stringency of laws, may influence public health efforts to reduce obesity among adolescent, middle-school aged, children.