"Parents are virtually unanimous that it's very important for elementary-school kids to get physical activity during every school day." says Sarah Clark, MPH, who directed the poll.
A few other key points from the poll:
- Overweight and obese parents were more likely than other parents to view school-time activity as essential for preventing obesity and promoting healthy physical development.
- 35% of parents feel their children's schools have too little time in gym class; 26% think there is not enough equipment on the playground; 22% say there is too little time for recess.
- Parents' responses are especially important given the budget pressures on schools, illustrating that parents value the benefits of physical activity - not only for obesity prevention, but for academic success as well.
For more information about the poll, visit http://www.med.umich.edu/mott/npch/
Those numbers in the second bullet seem WAY low to me... anybody else?
ReplyDeleteFocus groups about Active Schools that we have done in Wisconsin suggest that people feel like physical activity is just as important as "core" school subjects. We will hopefully have our full focus group report out soon...stay tuned
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jordan! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKyle, you raise a good point. In our parent 2-5 year-old parent focus groups, parents seemed to assume their kids were getting plenty of PA in their child care settings, I wonder if the same assumption exists for schools.
Sarah, looking forward to the report!