Association between State Physical Education Laws and Student Physical Activity

Introduction. This study examined the association between state physical education (PE) requirements and the physical activity (PA) of high school students.

 

Methods. Scores for state PE laws for 2005-2013 were drawn from the Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (C.L.A.S.S.) and categorized as strong, weak, or none. C.L.A.S.S. scores were linked with state geocodes to the national Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System data, and their association with PA was estimated using multinomial logistic regressions while controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and state confounders.

Results. Preliminary findings suggest that a strong PE law, as compared to weak or no laws, was associated with more PA in the past 7 days. Specifically, a strong PE law was associated with increased probabilities of attending PE classes for 1-4 days (102% increase, p≤0.01), being physically active for ≥ 60 minutes for 1-6 days (3% increase,  p≤0.1), exercising for ≥ 20 minutes that made them sweat for 1-6 days (4% increase, p≤0.05)  or daily (8% increase, p≤0.1), and participating in PA that did not make them sweat for ≥ 30 minutes daily (14% increase, p≤0.05). Additionally, these impacts were greater for female than for male students.

Conclusions.  Preliminary results show that a strong state PE law significantly increased overall PA among high schools students, particularly through PE and light PA, and that this impact was greater for female than for male students. These findings will inform policy makers about the effectiveness of a strong PE law in increasing PA and related public health benefits.