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Sarah Niegowski
Mrs. Cramer
College Comp I Pd.7
24 March 2017
Children are being forced into physical fitness?
Nearly thirty-three percent of children in America are overweight or obese. The National

Physical Activity Plan Alliance released a report saying that three fourths of children across the

United States are not getting the recommended physical activity per week (Toporek). Physical

education classes have been made mandatory in public school systems throughout the country.

Congress has spent more than $320 million for physical education grants (Cloud). School

physical education programs are highly unnecessary for multiple reasons. A recent controversial

topic in America has been whether physical education classes during school would be important.

Some people argue that school districts should be making physical education an obligatory class

but those who do are ignorant to how ineffective the program can actually be. It is believed that

physical education in schools improves academics, increases self-esteem and decreases the

number of obese children in America. However, physical education actually has little

involvement in scholastics, diminishes self-confidence and is unrelated to ballooning1 adolescent

obesity rates.

People are lead to believe that an increase in physical fitness correlates with an increase

in test results. A new study published has concluded that kids who exercise more, remember

more2 (Reynolds). This result is from the ability for children to calm down and sit still easier at

home. They are able to release all their extra pent-up energy so they can sit still. A study found

1
Hyperbole- the word ballooning exaggerates the obesity rates for emphasis.
2
Diacope- exercise more, remember more shows emphasis on the correlation that is
believed to exist
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that elementary students that exercised before an exam scored better on their exam than the

children that sat quietly prior to testing. Also, during a study, when asked to call to mind

information previously given to them, the children who were more fit notably surpassed the

performance of the unhealthy and overweight kids (Reynolds). Even though the study shows a

correlation, it does not show causation or how that would work.

Learning is a complex process, involving the taking in and storing of new information,

but also remembering that information later (Reynolds). Most children learn better if they are

tested while studying. This makes it easier to recall the information previously learned. A group

of researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently did a study on the

memorization of nine and ten year olds. The results showed that all the students had comparable

answers when asked to recall information given to them while their memorization was reinforced

by testing (Reynolds). Therefore, this demonstrates that even though there are studies that

correlate higher test scores with an increase of fitness, there is no actual cause for increased

academic level with increased physical fitness.

Multiple sources state that one of the various benefits of physical education classes in

school districts is an increase in self-esteem. This is said to be a result of mutual respect and

accomplishment. Teachers are forced to hold their class responsible for respecting each other.

Individual students feel as though they are respected, which raises their self-esteem. During

physical education classes, students are able to recognize their weaknesses during a class and can

set goals. After reaching these goals, their self-appraisal and esteem rise due to the feeling of

accomplishment. Other students even may get a boost to their self-esteem if they are good at the

activity that they are taking part in. Fitness classes often allow the student to feel as though they

have a leader role in the game or activity they are participating in. The increase in exercise can
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also increase an adolescent's self-confidence. They feel as though they may be getting healthier

and maybe even skinnier by working out more. Some students only get a chance to do this during

mandatory gym classes. Although all of these reasons could be argued to be valid, mandatory

physical education classes could actually be detrimental to a students self-confidence.

Many public school systems now have a measurement of Body Mass Index that are

mandatory for kids in middle school. It measures height and weight but does not calculate in age.

This gives an unrealistic and unreliable results because students are still aging and growing

everyday (Brooks). After taking this unfair measurement, if the child does not fall into the

guidelines created by their surrounding peers, a letter is sent home to the parents, claiming their

child is overweight or fat, just because they may not be as skinny or fit as some of the other

students. This increases a child's self-loathing because it allows the child to feel as though there

is something wrong with them just because they may be a little pudgy. Once these children move

up to the high school, they are forced to change in a locker room in front of all their peers. As if

they are not already insecure enough, now they have to change in front of their friends, where

they will constantly be comparing their own bodies with those around them. Not only will

students start to feel insecure because they do not look the same as some of the other students,

but they will start to feel insecure that other students are judging them. "Students are sexually

harassed, body shamed, put down, molested, encouraged to fight, encouraged to compete, spit

on, shoved in showers against their will, and forced to change in bathroom stalls in fear of

judgment"(Brooks). Schools throughout the country are requiring that students take swimming

during gym. This forces all students to wear a bathing suit no matter what age, size, gender, race,

or religion they may be (Brooks). For these reasons, physical education classes should be

optional.
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Many institutions of education believe that physical education classes help fight

childhood obesity. Some schools use physical education as a way of ensuring that children get

exercise at least a few times a week, since there is a possibility of children not getting proper

exercise at home. Perhaps, they may trust that by making children take part in supervised and

graded exercise, that they are helping to install positive habits and preventing obesity related

illnesses and health complications. Although these concerns may be in good conscious, they are

severely misguided.

As previously stated, schools use the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart to appoint grades of

"healthiness" to children and middle schoolers. The problems with the BMI chart have already

been previously discussed, and it is those inaccuracies that cause more children to be assigned to

the "obese" or "overweight" categories than are truly unhealthy. Thus, schools are fighting an

epidemic that may not truly exist. Furthermore, those children who may actually be unhealthy

are not helped by physical education classes. Some studies show that weight is more influenced

by diet and metabolic speeds than exercise (Cloud). In addition, one study revealed that physical

education classes have the same effect that just letting students go outside and play on their own

would have on activity rates. "Another recent study revealed that fewer than fifteen percent of

kids sustained any burst of moderate to vigorous exercise lasting even five minutes. And yet

those kids were no healthier than the kids who were more active"(Cloud). Furthermore, overall

activity in physical education classes depends on what children put into the class. By making

exercise boring and stressful, schools are pushing students away from interest in exercise, and

therefore pushing students away from a healthy future.

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The fight for healthy, happy, and successful students is an important one, but it seems as

though the education system is fighting a losing battle3 by continuing physical education classes.

Even though it can be debated that student benefit from physical education classes, I have proved

that to be a false statement. Many of their reasons to mandate physical education classes are

misinformed and produce unsuccessful results. With this in mind, the education system should

focus on other, more effective ways to improve the lives and futures of American children.

3
Idiom- "fighting a losing battle" creates emphasis on the argument that physical education
classes are not need as thought.
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Work Cited
Brooks, Sean M. "Why Physical Education Contributes to Violence in School."Edutopia. N.p.,

21 Jan. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

Cloud, John. "Gym Class: Why Kids' Exercise Matters Less Than We Think -- Printout -." Time.

Time Inc., 13 May 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

Reynolds, Gretchen. "How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success." The New York Times.

The New York Times, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

Toporek, Bryan. "Child Health; 'The 2016 U.S. Report Card on Physical Activity for Children

and Youth'." Education Week, 30 Nov. 2016, p. 5. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A47369810/OVIC?u+=pl1949&xid=2b2bdd22. Accessed

16 Mar,2017.