Foundation for an Active

Lifestyle
- Maria Andrea Soliman
 We will be learning about…
Fitness and Academic
Physical Activity Guidelines
for Children 01 02 Learning

Movement Education and Youth Physical Activity

Active Lifestyles 03 04 Promotion Model
“Physical activity has a significant
positive impact on people’s health and
well-being”
—(NASPE, 2005, p.3)
• The current view of the importance of physical activity suggests that the process,
or behavior, of physical activity should be promoted, rather than the product, or
outcome (fitness).

• The role of physical education for children: to promote a lifetime of physical

activity.

• “Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health.

The goal of physical education is to develop physically educated individuals who
have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful
physical activity. (NASPE,2011)
 01
Physical Activity Guidelines for
Children
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) has published guidelines for
recommended levels of physical activity for
children (2004).

Guideline 1:

● Children should accumulate at least 60 minutes, and up to

several hours, of age-appropriate physical activity on all, or
most, days of the week.

● This daily accumulation should include moderate and

vigorous physical activity with the majority of the time
being spent in activity that is intermittent in nature.
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) has published guidelines for
recommended levels of physical activity for
children (2004).

Guideline 2:

● Children should participate in several bouts of physical

activity lasting 15 minutes or more each day.
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) has published guidelines for
recommended levels of physical activity for
children (2004).

Guideline 3:

● Children should participate each day in a variety of age-

appropriate physical activities designed to achieve
optimal health, wellness, fitness, and performance
benefits.
● Of the total physical activity time that young children should get, the
time allocation for elementary physical education is a minimum of
150 minutes per week of instructional physical education across the
school year. (Recess)

● Even though the NASPE guidelines for and the goal of developing
physically educated and physically active people are clear, it does not
appear that these are being successfully met, especially for children.
According to data from the Shape of the Nation Report (NASPE, 2006, p. 8):

● • The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since
1980. Among children and teens aged 6 to 19 years, 16 percent (over 9 million
young people) are overweight.
● About 10 percent of children aged 2 to 5 years are overweight.
● Four in 10 Mexican-American and African- American youth age 6 to 19 are
overweight or at risk of being overweight.
● Approximately 60 percent of obese children ages 5 to 10 years have at least one
cardiovascular disease risk factor, such as elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides,
insulin levels, or blood pressure, and 25 percent have two or more risk factors.
● Children and adolescents who are overweight by the age of 8 are 80 percent more
likely to become overweight or obese adults.
 02
Fitness and Academic Learning
● An active lifestyle has positive influences on the
brain and cognitive learning.

● There was a strong positive relationship between

physical fitness and academic achievement” and that
“this cumulative evidence indicates that conditions
that improve general health promote both a healthy
body and improved intellectual capacity” (Department
of Education, California)
● The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act would allow for
the integration of the physical aspects of learning for
both academic and health-enhancing reasons.

● If a national physical education report card documented

the number of minutes of physical activity achieved by
a student per week, the nation would have a better
knowledge of whether or not NASPE’s 150- minute
recommendation is being met.
 03
Movement Education and Active
Lifestyles
● The significant issue of inactive and overweight youth can be
addressed effectively in a movement education program.

● Success for all and movement for all are philosophies inherent
in a movement education and fitness approach to teaching.

● The development of health-related fitness is not a separate

goal, but one that is built naturally into the movement
education program.
● Health-related fitness includes components of cardiovascular
fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition,
and flexibility.

● Thus, a separate fitness unit, while valued, is not needed in

movement education. Because movement education is fitness
based, teachers using this approach make efficient use of the
often minimally allotted time for physical education.
 04
Youth Physical Activity
Promotion Model
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

● The Youth Physical Activity Promotion (YPAP)

model provides an integrated approach to
understanding the predisposing, enabling, and
reinforcing factors influencing physical activity
(PA) behavior.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM PREDISPOSING FACTORS

● What makes a child want to participate in physical activity

are the predisposing factors.

● Meredith and Welk (2007) suggest that both feeling like

physical activity is worth it and competence are critical
motivators that predispose someone to exercise.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM PREDISPOSING FACTORS

● Enjoyment of the physical activity is extremely important to

making participation worth it.

● The MEF approach allows children to discover benefits to

participation, such as enjoyment, that are relevant to them
personally. Thus the MEF approach can be a strong
motivator for children to choose physical activity.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM PREDISPOSING FACTORS

● A child’s perception of her skill is competence. Essentially,

she is asking, “Am I going to be successful?” Children in
sport or competition-based physical education programs can
easily feel unsuccessful and thus may not enjoy and may not
want to participate in physical activity.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM PREDISPOSING FACTORS

● The basic philosophy of a movement education program

focuses on everyone having success and opportunities for
problem solving. Because success is more a matter of
experience than of determining winners and losers, the
movement education approach can result in very high rates
of self-perceived success. (Games rather than sports)
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM PREDISPOSING FACTORS

● As noted in chapter 2, essential to the MEF is providing knowledge that

forms a foundation for movement.

● This important piece provides an opportunity for those who are not as
physically gifted as others to demonstrate cognitive proficiency in
solving their own movement problems.

● MEF lessons that encourage children to solve movement problems and

develop skills based on movement knowledge result in more positive
answers to the questions Am I able? and Is it worth it?
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM ENABLING FACTORS

● What elements help children be physically active?

● According to Meredith and Welk (2007), access to facilities,

equipment, and programs that promote opportunities for
physical activity are influential enabling factors. Although
these variables are important for all physical activity models,
they do not guarantee that children will participate.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM ENABLING FACTORS

● Perceiving oneself as physically fit and skilled is an enabling

factor.

● Good instruction and good feedback from teachers are

enabling factors too.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM ENABLING FACTORS

● Because children in a movement education program are likely to

answer the question of Am I able? in the affirmative, they are
likely to perceive themselves as physically fit or skilled—a
powerful physical activity motivator. Not only are children
physically active throughout movement education lessons, but
they are also empowered with knowledge of movement and the
perception that they can be successful in their movement
experiences.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM REINFORCING FACTORS

● Who reinforces a child’s level of interest?

● According to Meredith and Welk (2007), important

socializing agents such as parents, peers, teachers, and
coaches are critical reinforcing factors.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM REINFORCING FACTORS

● Positive reinforcement, feedback, and programs that

promote success foster a more positive response from young
learners.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM REINFORCING FACTORS

● Encouraging children to solve their own movement

problems encourages peer support and positive outcomes,
thus promoting an interest in physical activity.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model

YPAPM REINFORCING FACTORS

● In a movement education approach, although children learn

how to throw, catch, kick, and so on, the focus on solving
movement problems leads to greater success and less focus
on one correct response, which is common in a command
style of teaching.
Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model
Applying NASPE Standards to the
Movement Education Framework
NASPE’s (2004) definition of a physically educated person is
separated into six standards. The movement education
approach most directly relates to standards 1 and 2 and
indirectly supports the other four standards.
NASPE’S STANDARDS AND MEF

Standard 1
● Is about the physical performance of motor skills
● Being active for a lifetime is greatly facilitated by
developing solid fundamentals, which is a major function of
movement education.
NASPE’S STANDARDS AND MEF

Standard 1

● “Mastering movement fundamentals establishes a

foundation to facilitate continued motor skill acquisition and
gives students the capacity for successful and advanced
levels of performance to further the likelihood of
participation on a daily basis.”
NASPE’S STANDARDS AND MEF

Standard 1

When is the best time for

development of these skills?
NASPE’S STANDARDS AND MEF

Standard 1

● “In the primary years, students develop maturity and versatility in

the use of fundamental motor skills (e.g., running, skipping,
throwing, striking) that are further refined, combined, and varied
during the middle school years. These motor skills, now having
evolved into specialized skills (e.g., a specific dance step, chest
pass, catching with a glove, or the use of a specific tactic), are
used in increasingly complex movement environments through
the middle school years”
NASPE’S STANDARDS AND MEF

Standard 2

● NASPE standard 2 is an extension of standard 1. Whereas

standard 1 addresses physical competency, standard 2 lays
out what the student should know in a cognitive way.
NASPE’S STANDARDS AND MEF

Standard 2

● Knowledge of physical activity concepts and principles and

of how to apply them enhances the likelihood of
independent learning and therefore more regular and
effective participation in physical activity.

● Lifetime activity depends on knowledge as well as learning

the actual movements.
NASPE’S STANDARDS AND MEF

Standard 2

● The student-centered nature of movement education creates

a very positive environment.

● In movement education, students often work at their own

intensity levels, which makes moving more comfortable
than when trying to keep pace with others in competition-
based programs.
National Standards
and Guidelines