Lesson 12 Transcript: Promoting Physical Activity in School & the Community

Since physical activity among students and community members supports good health, there are many
ways to encourage fitness. Understand the benefits of exercise and get ideas to promote activities through
school-sponsored and community events, as well as programs such as SHAPE America and Jump Rope
for Heart.

Promoting Physical Activity

There are many ways to promote physical activity in both the schools and the surrounding communities.
This is a worthwhile endeavor as physical activity has many positive benefits. Furthermore, childhood
obesity is a rampant problem and many children at the age of only two are already overweight.
Many exercise physiologists believe obesity is a current epidemic in America, not only in the adult
population, but also in the student population. Promoting physical activity can do many positive things for
the citizens of the community and nearby schools, including:

 Increased cardiovascular health

 Decreased risk of diabetes
 Positive body image

Fitness activities cost money. Even something that might seem free, like a walking trail, costs money
because of issues in clearing, drainage, and leveling. However, the schools and the community can
partner with both profit-driven businesses and nonprofit organizations.

SHAPE America
The Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) is now called SHAPE America. It is the main
organization overseeing school fitness in America. The ultimate goal of SHAPE America is to empower
50 million students through physical education and health programs. It even offers a poster and activity
set that teachers can receive and display in their classrooms. It also offers other tips, toolkits, and
guidelines on its website. Let's take a look at some of their other ideas for physical activity.
Students tend to have a lot of pent-up energy, and often this can lead to unfocused behavior in the
classroom. A teacher could have the students jog in place for a minute or do some jumping jacks. Both
activities can be done at the students' desks and require little additional space.
Not every student is good enough to make a competitive school team. However, parents and teachers can
promote sports, such as walking, swimming, kickball, or dodgeball, as after-school sports. If the school
will allow it, these activities may also be fit in before school, during lunch, or recess.
A nascent idea in some school districts is to actually assign activity homework in much the same way that
regular homework is doled out. The student could be required to walk for 30 minutes, or do 15 pushups
and 15 situps. This also offers a chance for the parents to get involved.
Schools can also sponsor activity fairs that host events in their gymnasiums. One of the most popular
fitness events is the 5K (3.1 mile) race that a school could sponsor. There can even be trophies and
ribbons handed out.
Many years ago students used to walk to and from school, but today it is estimated that only five percent
of students do so. The majority of students ride the bus, while some are driven by their parents. One way
for the student to get exercise is to walk or bike to and from school each day. This concept is known
as active transport and there is even a National Walk to School Day in October and a National Bike to
School Day in May.
Community Physical Activity
A website or social media are the obvious ways to promote physical activity in the community. For
example, the American Heart Association in conjunction with the American Stroke Association has a
support webpage for both patients and caregivers. The goal is to promote exercise to help reduce illnesses
related to the heart and to the brain, respectively. In addition, the AHA has an exciting fundraising
program called Jump Rope for Heart. Parents can register their children online and teachers can sign up
their schools. The ASA has a recommended program of treadmill training, mainly because a handrail is
available to prevent falls, and also because the users can adjust the slope and pace.
However, there are other older methods that work as well. They include the use of gym bulletin boards,
the school newspaper, morning or afternoon announcements on the intercom, and brochures. These
methods can quickly spread the news of local road races, aerobics, fitness, and yoga classes, or other
activity-related projects.
The community can also strive to provide safe parks, playgrounds, and general facilities for recreation. It
could make gyms, tracks, and other school facilities open both before and after school and on weekends.
It might have facilities and opportunities for people of all skill levels from beginning amateur to
professional, and it should provide for both sexes equally.
The community can implement recreation sports at facilities such as the YWCA and YMCA, and this
could include both individual and team sports. The facilities would be open and available to everyone in
the community, and ideally be free of charge or involve a nominal fee.
Finally, there should be walking trails in the community. These would be clearly marked and safe of
debris and other possible injury hazards. Furthermore, there would be trails for both walking and
bicycling.

Lesson Summary
In this lesson we discussed ways to promote physical activity in both the schools and the accompanying
community. We reviewed three crucial reasons that this exercise should be promoted, which are
cardiovascular health, diabetes risk reduction, and positive body image. We touched on the importance of
funding these school activities, both through the public and private sector. We discussed the importance
of SHAPE America and its goals. We reviewed how fitness breaks and active transport can be utilized to
incorporate fitness into the schools. We elaborated on ways to promote community activities, including
the relevance of the online social structure. Finally, we expounded on the importance of walking trails,
parks, playgrounds, and sports leagues.