The End of the Obesity Epidemic by Michael Gard

Author:Michael Gard [Gard, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The curiosities in a statement like this are considerable. Perhaps most obvious is its emphasis on rugged self-reliance, individualism and competition. But there is surely also a comical edge here in the way O’Connell seems to imagine children doing a few extra abdominal crunches today and moving on to world domination tomorrow. We might also wonder how the publicly available FITNESSGRAM® data will be used to inform subsequent educational policies. Recently, researchers have begun correlating students’ FITNESSGRAM® scores with their standardized test scores. University of California, Los Angeles researchers, for example, came to the following recommendation, following their examination of the data: ‘Schools and parents seeking to optimize their students’ academic performance should take heed … for optimal brain function, “it’s good to be both aerobically fit and to have a healthy body shape’” (Hendry 2010). The researchers go on to argue that if these trends continue ‘… schools will have to reverse their recent disinvestment in physical education ostensibly for the purposes of boosting student achievement’ (Hendry 2010).

What brand of physical education would emanate from recommendations like this? Discussing California schools’ lacklustre 2008 results, Dr Harold Goldstein, Executive Director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, told the press that ‘P.E. as it’s taught today has little link to these fitness measures’ (Knoll 2008). He went on to say that ‘This is one of those things where you actually want kids to be taught for the test and it’s not being done’ (Knoll 2008). Goldstein’s recommendation, then, is to better align physical education to the six FITNESSGRAM® criteria. This, he argues, would result in higher FITNESSGRAM® scores. In all of this a simple and consistent research finding is missed: children just do not like physical education programs that have the sole purpose of making them fitter. They much prefer to enjoy themselves.

Interestingly enough, the state of California is also endorsing the academic achievement/fitness connection. In a recent press release, the SDE announced that those students who won the Governor’s Fitness Challenge Competition came from the state’s highest academically performing schools. The Challenge is a pledge students make to be physically active for 30–60 minutes at least three times a week for a month. Winners of the Challenge share nearly $400,000 in physical activity equipment and cash rewards for their schools (California Department of Education, Communications Division 2009). Programs like this beg questions about the wisdom of further advantaging schools that are already excelling in this area.

Policies involving physical activity in schools are the subject of widespread debate. However, most policies, particularly those that necessitate a change to the existing environment, require additional resources such as time, energy, equipment and personnel to implement. One of the many questions pertaining to policy implementation often involves which governing body (at the federal, state or local level) will take responsibility for funding these new mandates. Very often, state and local entities criticise the federal government for ratifying legislation that is partly or entirely unfunded. In many of these under-funded or unfunded mandates,

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