Original Posting on President Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition's blog: http://fitness.gov/blog-posts/whole-school-approach-physical-activity.html

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released a report entitled “Educating the Student Body:  Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School.”  With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the report committee was tasked with: 1) assessing the status of physical activity and physical education in schools; 2) reviewing the science behind the effects of physical activity on health, development and academic performance in youth; and 3) making recommendations appropriate with the scientific evidence.

Central to the Committee’s recommendations is a Whole of School approach to physical activity programming.  With this approach, quality physical education is at the core for all students, and other opportunities are provided throughout the school day to ensure that all students meet the youth recommendations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans—at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day. Such opportunities include active transport to and from school, intramural and extramural sports, recess, active classroom lessons, and before and after school activities.  These strategies, when taken together, can help children achieve the recommended daily physical activity which can lead to better health, development and academic performance.

Historically, schools have played a central role in the health of our nation’s children.  Nutrition (breakfast and lunch), immunization and health screening programs also play a key role in the school setting because healthy students are better able to learn.  The science base that supports physical activity for good health, development and helping students reach their full academic potential strongly suggests that physical activity should be given the same attention as other programs for the sake of our children.

*Notes: Dr. Kohl (the author) chaired the IOM committee that released the “Educating the Student Body:  Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School” report.  PCFSN Council member, Dr. Jayne Greenberg, also served on the IOM committee that issued this report. 

Resources:

• Video of key findings from the IOM report.
• IOM report summary http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2013/Educating-the-Student-Body-Taking-Physical-Activity-and-Physical-Education-to-School.aspx

Our nation’s determined band of wellness revolutionaries has rallied around a wonderfully succinct and effective policy slogan: Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice.

In the context of promoting physical activity, the “easy choice” varies depending on the environment. At the workplace, for example, the “easy choice” might mean taking an authorized exercise break during the day, using a treadmill desk, or conducting walking meetings. At home, the “easy choice” could be a stroll along a well-lit and safe walking path leading to a marketplace.

As more and more policymakers consider whether their decisions make it easier or harder for Americans to make the “healthy choice,” the barriers to exercise will be chiseled down, and we will become a more active nation.

But I would like to add a parenthetical to strengthen the slogan.

Something like this: Make the Healthy Choice, the Easy (and Happy) Choice

In many cases, it’s not enough to create an “easy choice,” if the “easy choice” will not add happiness to the chooser’s life. For example, IHRSA (my employer) could install a 30-foot climbing wall inside my cubicle, but as someone whose blood pressure increases rapidly the further my shoes get from the ground, I would never climb the wall because climbing it would detract mightily from my happiness.  IHRSA couldn’t make it any easier, but I still wouldn’t do it.

Now, of course, “happiness” is a complex emotion, and there may be as many forms of happiness are there are people on the planet (e.g. here are plenty of happy things related to physical activity), but there are some basic human tendencies to consider when crafting “the easy (and happy) choice.”

1. Sometimes we want to go where everybody knows our name.

The secret weapon of many successful health clubs is the friendly front-desk person who seems genuinely pleased to see you and greets you by name. It’s nice to feel welcomed and valued. That quick interaction makes us feel happy and more likely to seek out a similar interaction in the future.

2.  Exercise is easier with a buddy or two (or ten…)

A long, lonesome walk can be inspiring, but it can also just be long and lonesome. On the other hand, a long talk with a buddy on a walking trail can fly right by, and satisfy a common need for social engagement (not just the kind over a network) and physical activity. For many people, easy choices are made easier when buddies are involved.  

3. Aesthetics matter

A treadmill desk in a dank office with peeling paint is a crummy option. Sure, it might provide easy access for time-saving physical activity, but it’s a downer, and not likely to put on many miles. A climate-controlled office, however, full of fun pictures, perhaps of employees or the local sports heroes, can be a happy place, and happy places compel return visits.

What are some other ways we can inject more happiness into the easy choices?

Written by: J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health

Cross-posted from the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition blog

Fitness is a word that means something different to everyone.  For some, it’s a necessity.  A prerequisite for health and wellbeing.  For others, it’s a journey.  A work in progress.  An aspiration.  An opportunity.

For me, fitness is exhilaration: the rush of bursting from the blocks at the start of a 200m race; the thrill of sprinting down a basketball court in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.  Sports, I found as a shy teenager – and as one of the few students of color at my high school – was a means of expressing myself that often seemed truer than anything else, and an outlet that opened up so many more doors of opportunity.  As an athlete, I learned lessons about leadership, teamwork, and perseverance that remain with me to this day.

But committing to physical fitness doesn’t have to mean running laps on a track, stepping onto a basketball court, or even joining a gym.  It doesn’t have to involve fancy equipment or expensive gear.  And it doesn’t mean winning races or setting records.  Physical fitness, as I have told kids and parents in my work as a pediatrician, is for everyone.  No matter what you look like, where you come from, or what your means, you can get active and get moving.  You can make physical activity a way of life.  You can improve your health, and jumpstart a better future. 

In the face of our country’s obesity epidemic, it is more important than ever that we inspire kids and families to make physical fitness a lifelong habit.  Perhaps more than any other health issue, obesity provides a clear example of the racial and ethnic health disparities that have been so costly for communities of color and for our country as a whole.  Minorities are far more likely than the rest of the population to be overweight and obese – and to suffer from related conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. Studies show that minority adults are less likely to be physically active.  Students of color are less likely to attend physical education classes on a regular basis.

Even as the Affordable Care Act is reducing health disparities by making health care more affordable, strengthening access to quality care, and promoting prevention and wellness, we know that minorities face many more barriers to health and fitness.  They also face challenges in many of the places where they live, work, learn, and play – places where the social determinants of health are stacked against our most vulnerable and underserved communities.  I heard the stories and worries of the parents of my patients as they told me that their neighborhoods and playgrounds weren’t safe for their kids to play in. 

But while these issues are complicated, they are not impossible to overcome.  That is why, under the leadership of First Lady Michelle Obama, our administration has declared an ambitious goal: solving childhood obesity within a generation. 

The First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign is bringing together community leaders, elected officials, educators, health professionals, faith leaders, business leaders, parents, and even kids themselves to bring an end to childhood obesity. 

As schools are stepping up to serve healthier food in their cafeterias, and businesses are working to ensure that more Americans have access to healthy food, elected officials, faith-based organizations, and community groups are finding ways to promote physical activity in their communities.  And with the recent launch of the Let’s Move! Active Schools initiative, we are working to bring physical activity back to schools across the nation – because there is no better place to get kids moving, and no better way to inspire them to be physically active for a lifetime. 

Already, we are seeing communities and states make great strides in finding new ways to help kids get healthy.  But there remains so much more work to be done.  In the movement to bring physical activity into all our lives, and raise healthier generations in all our communities, there are many more opportunities yet.  To learn more and join in, visit www.LetsMove.gov and www.Fitness.gov.