Running head: PHYSICAL HEALTH

PPE 310: Health Literacy for Schools

Physical Health
Signature Assignment Final Draft
Marisa Kaufman and Maria de Jesus Rocha
Course #92455 and 92454
Dr. Hesse

Marketing

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Funding
There are many grant opportunities that are available for our school. Unfortunately, not a
lot of teachers know how to apply for these grant opportunities. Luckily for them the Internet is
the perfect place to get started doing the research. Listed below are top websites other teachers
have frequently visit to find health, physical education, and wellness grant opportunities.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

http://www.achievepe.org/grant-finder/
http://www.shapeamerica.org/grants/
www.letsmoveschools.org
http://school.fueluptoplay60.com/funds/funds_for_futp60.php
www.sparkpe.org/grants/
The grant applications have changed and are much more simplistic because they want to
encourage more teachers to participate and compete for each grant. With that being said, here are
a few suggestions to consider before applying. First, it is important to read the entire grant

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application because they can have many requirements and if your school does not meet those
requirements you will be wasting your time continuing with the application. Second, after you
have reviewed the application, check with your schools administrative team before continuing.
Administrators have a better understanding of the school's policies and finances. They are the
perfect people guide you to continue the application and ensuring that the school is on board.
Third, make sure to come up with a plan and get others to help you with the different
components in the application. Fourth, do not be afraid to ask for help. Ask other teachers who
are experts in these types of applications. Lastly, remember that there are no guarantees to
receiving funding, but if you focus on planning and collaborating with others that will increase
your chances of success. One grant we would be applying for is the Healthy Kids, Healthy
Families Grant. This specific grant was designed to improve the health and wellness of our
children and their families.

Admin
There is a growing number of childhood obesity in our nation. It is affecting the child's
physical, emotional and mental health. Obesity is the most common medical condition amongst
children. More than 9 million children are overweight; this means that 1 in 3 kids are obese. A
teacher's goal is to educate and encourage their students to learn and succeed. Studies have
shown that there is a positive link between physical activity, healthy eating and academic
performance. The best way to motivate students and to keep them motivated is through positive
reinforcement. Schools are the best way to teach students how to live a healthier and active
lifestyle. Physical activities are designed for students to feel inclusive, become active and have
fun. If students are more engaged in the activities, it will help them develop healthier habits and

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are more committed to their wellness. Our goal is address childhood obesity. We must promote
and improve our students health by making the first step to change our environment. If we adopt
and enhance physical activity and healthy eating in our curriculum, we will be giving our
students the opportunity to learn why they are exercising at an early age. It will help them enjoy
it more and live a healthier lifestyle.

Committee
Our wellness staff program will consist of our schools principal, superintendent, faculty,
the school board and our community. By having the administrative support our wellness program
will help us succeed now and in the future. We will contact administration and conduct a meeting
discussing our wellness proposal. If our proposal is approved, we will then bring it to the school
board meeting and if approved the policy will take effect next school year. Our school faculty
will work together to form meetings to discuss our goals for nutrition, physical activities and
other school based activities that are designed to promote student wellness. The community will
be invited to these school meetings. We will provide them with nutrition guidelines for all foods
and beverages we offer on school grounds and discuss ways of promoting student health and
reducing childhood obesity. The school's faculty will establish a plan to measure and implement
wellness policies for our school and the principal will ensure that our plan meets the wellness
policy. The principal and physical education teachers job will also be to involve parents, food
authority, board members, administrators and the community in all new developments in the
schools wellness plan.

Engagement

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Studies have proven that when students exercise and their fitness needs are met, they are
more focused in school. They are more capable of learning and achieving their goals. In 2002, a
study was conducted where they looked at 5th, 7th and 9th graders and their association between
physical fitness and SAT-9 test scores. Their results were astonishing. Those students with higher
fitness in their school received higher test scores. Schools who offer more physical activity
programs during and after school showed that there is a link to stronger academic achievement
and students have a more positive attitude towards school. We will look for easier ways to help
our students stay active and be healthier. Our school can participate on the Move challenge. The
Move challenge is a physical activity that encourages the entire school to join and have fun while
they get their daily physical activity for a full month. The people behind this challenge are The
Healthy Kids Club and their sponsors. It is an annual event and they provide each participant
with their own physical activity-tracking chart, a t-shirt with their school's logo and offer great
prizes. Schools also benefit for entering the challenge. PE equipment is awarded to schools with
the greatest number of activity minutes. Schools with the highest number of staff participation
win a catered lunch. This challenge is a great way to get our students moving and having fun
while exercising.

Recognition
There are many ways a person can be recognized. A great way to recognize a student or
even a teacher is with brag tags. They are a way for students to show others how well they are
doing physically. For every activity a student completes they earn a tag. Then every month at the
awards ceremony students can be recognized for putting forth a great effort in being active. A
way to attract and appropriately bring in news and media can be through contacting a sports

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company to show them what is going on within your school. One program that gets great media
coverage is Play 60 by the NFL. NFL players go to schools and get active with the students,
teachers and even parents. They teach how important it is to go outside and be active everyday.

Literature Review
Article 1: Move to Improve: A Randomized Workplace Trial to Increase Physical Activity
Having an active lifestyle has proven to show positive health benefits, but studies have
shown that there are only a small percentage of people who work out at all. One reason this so is
the lack of time or feeling exhausted because of their workplace. Our workplace is a perfect
setting for interventions to increase physical activity amongst employees. In the Move to
Improve: A Randomized Workplace Trial to Increase Physical Activity article, they evaluated
the efficacy of Move to Improve, a socialecologic intervention delivered at the workplace to
increase leisure-time physical activity (Dishman, 2009). Results did show a greater increase in
physical activity amongst the participants. The Move to Improve intervention resulted useful
because of the goal setting to attain an increased physical activity from 31% to 51% just after 6
weeks of either moderate or vigorous physical activity.

Article 2: Physical activity barriers in the workplace

It is recommended participate in at least 30 minutes of physical activity for five or more
days to improve and maintain your health. If our workplace aims to increase physical activity
interventions, will see a positive impact in their employees behaviors such as reducing sickness
absence and prevent any accidents at work. This study discusses the reasons participants chose
not to participate in their workplace physical activity intervention. In the article Physical
activity barriers in the workplace, there were Six superordinate themes were identified: self-

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efficacy for exercise; attitudes towards PA; lack of time and energy; facilities and the physical
environment; response to the PA program and PA culture (Edmunds & Harvey, 2013). Although
these reasons are not clearly understood, the study provides recommendations for future physical
activity interventions.

Article 3: Opportunities for Increased Physical Activity in the Workplace: the Walking
Meeting
Despite the positive impact walking has on human health, few opportunities exist for
workers with largely sedentary jobs to increase physical activity, (Kling, Yang, Messiah,
Arheart, Brannan, & Caban-Martinez, 2015, p. 1). The article discusses taking workers who
conduct weekly meeting and turns these meetings into Walking Meetings (WaM). According to
Kling, Yang, Messiah, Arheart, Brannan, & Caban-Martinez, Prolonged periods of time sitting
may increase risk of premature death, have associations with health problems, and compromise
metabolic health. The study had 17 participants wear accelerometers for a 3-week period. The
first week the participants did their normal daily routine. The 2nd and 3rd week the participants
started their walking meetings. When traditional meeting were converted into a walking meeting
there was increase in and very vigorous physical activity levels by ten minutes.
Article 4: Do workplace physical activity interventions improve mental health outcomes?
The work environment is recognized as an important source of psychological stress due
to work demands and pressures (Chu, Koh, Moy, & Muller-Riemenschneider, 2014, p. 235). For
many people work environments create stress. Companies are using physical activity such as
yoga to help relieve stress due to work demands and pressure. Yoga focuses on a persons
physical well-being while also helping a persons mental health. With yoga added to a persons

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workplace there was a significant improvement in stress level. According to Chu, Koh, Moy, &
Muller-Riemenschneider, Workplace physical activity and yoga programs are associated with
significant reduction in depressive symptoms and anxiety, respectively.

Synthesis of Information
Many studies have confirmed regular physical activity is needed to prevent and fight
against many diseases and improve our physical and mental health. After reviewing all four
articles it is clear to see the common theme. If our workplace offers physical activity
interventions, their employees will show positive health benefits and as a result will reduce sick
absences. Unfortunately for many of the studies have also shown that there are only a small
percentage of people who work out at all. I chose to find an article describing reason behind the
lack of physical activity. According to the article Physical Activity Barriers in the Workplace, it
explains how there were Six superordinate themes identified: self-efficacy for exercise; attitudes
towards PA; lack of time and energy; facilities and the physical environment; response to the PA
program and PA culture (Edmunds & Harvey, 2013). Although these reasons are not clearly
understood, it is important that our workplace breaks the barrier and offer physical activity
interventions for their employees.
Each of the research papers reviewed offered many recommendations for future physical
activity interventions. In the article Do Workplace Physical Activity Interventions Improve
Mental Health Outcomes? it explains how Workplace physical activity and yoga programs are
associated with significant reduction in depressive symptoms and anxiety, respectively (Chu et
all, 2014). Companies are using physical activity such as yoga to help relieve stress due to work
demands and pressure. Yoga focuses on a persons physical well-being while also helping a

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persons mental health. With yoga added to a persons workplace there was a significant
improvement in stress level. The overall conclusion for each article is a greater increase in
physical activity in the workplace will improve and maintain healthier and happier employees.

Conclusion
As educators we know the importance of students needing to be active and being healthy.
A report done by the Department of Education explains how healthy and active children are
prone to attend and perform better in school. Their response is to encourage schools to make
physical education an essential goal. In order to encourage physical education it is also important
for the teacher to be active as well with their students to show the importance of being active.
There is an obesity epidemic amongst children in the United States, as well as illnesses that can
result later in life. Physical education will allow students to improve their bone density and
motor skills, as well as boosts their self-esteem. The amount of physical activity our students
receive in school will also create positive habits that can assist their academic achievement.
Promoting physical health in childhood can only serve to benefit our students with the outcome
of healthier bodies accompanied by brighter minds.
In a year the program for promoting positive health and physical activity within schools
will start with the teachers. Teacher will be educated on how to get their students active while
having fun. In three years the program will not only have healthy and active staff members and
students but will start to get the parents or guardians involved. By five years the program will
start informing staff, student, and parents that unhealthy birthday or holiday treat will be allowed
on campus. This will help with promoting a healthier childhood for our students. The impact of
this program will help with childhood obesity and help to lower how many children are

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diagnosed obese. As for the impact it will have on teacher, we hope to have teacher be less tired
and lazy. Being active with their students gets them up and off their feet.

References
Dishman, R. K., DeJoy, D. M., Wilson, M. G., & Vandenberg, R. J. (2009). Move to improve: A
randomized workplace trial to increase physical activity. American Journal of Preventive
Medicine, 36(2), 133.
Edmunds, S., Hurst, L., & Harvey, K. (2013). Physical activity barriers in the workplace: An
exploration of factors contributing to non-participation in a UK workplace physical activity
intervention. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 6(3), 227-240.
doi:10.1108/IJWHM-11-2010-0040
Kling, H. E., Yang, X., Messiah, S. E., Arheart, K. L., Brannan, D., & Caban-Martinez, A. J.
(2016, June 23). Opportunities for Increased Physical Activity in the Workplace: The Walking
Meeting (WaM) Pilot Study, Miami, 2015. Preventing Chronic Disease Prev. Chronic Dis., 13.
doi:10.5888/pcd13.160111
Chu, A. H., Koh, D., Moy, F. M., & Muller-Riemenschneider, F. (2014). Do workplace physical
activity interventions improve mental health outcomes? Occupational Medicine, 64(4), 235-245.
doi:10.1093/occmed/kqu045
Triolet, Chad. (2014). Tips and Ideas for Finding & Using Grant Resources for your PE Program.
Gopher Sport. Retrieved from: http://www.gophersport.com/blogentry/mo-money-finding-usinggrant-resources-to-bolster-your-pe-program
https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/?gclid=CIT7w6jDrNACFQ54fgodLeoJ5g