Petition: Provide School Children With 1 Hour Exercise A Day

The Problem

• Both the UK and US Governments Recommend All Children Have 60 Minutes Exercise a Day
• Neither the UK nor the US School System Provide This
• Many Families Do Not Have Access to Facilities to Provide This
• Obesity Is Rising
• Diet Related Illness Such As Diabetes, Heart Disease and Colon Cancers are Increasing

The Solution

• School to Start Providing All Children 60 Minutes of Exercise Every Day
• Ideally Through PE Lessons or Free Before / After School Activities
• Exercise To Be Taught and Tested – Ensure Children Leave School Knowing How To Exercise Properly in the Home, Parks or Gyms.
• Encourage more Inter-School Competitions to Promote Athletes and Sports

Sign Up Below (click here) and Share If You Agree

Background

In 2009 we wrote an article which talked about the benefits of Old School Fitness and Strength Training and in 2012 we wrote an article suggesting that It’s Time To Bring Back Old School Physical Training. The subject of physical education in school is in the news again.

There was a time when the prospect of spending an hour with the PT teacher, who had more in common with a drill sergeant than the art teacher, struck fear into the hearts of school boys and girls. However, in recent decades PE has become a more relaxed class at school, with an emphasis on being a team player and learning the theory of exercise, and less about having your body worked to within an inch of your life.

One of the reasons for this change is that parents are increasingly asking for their children to be except from PE, usually on the grounds that it is a bit too hard on them. Every year parents complain to head teachers saying that physical education should not be compulsory in school as it interferes with proper learning and their children often feel bullied in class.

The main concerns about PE is that there is a risk of injury and that sport is a waste of time and resources. Many parents simply feel that their children should have the right to choose how they exercise, it should not be dictated.

However, childhood obesity continues to become a bigger problem and PE is often the only exercise a child gets. For many people, PE is the last exercise they ever do. The main benefits of PE are that it promotes a healthy lifestyle and that physical development leads to long-term health and can aid mental clarity too.

School PE Lacks Intensive Exercise

Most schools in the UK provide 2 hours a week of physical education for 5 to 14 year-olds. However, according to the BBC often the types of exercise performed are simply not intensive enough to promote improved fitness. According to Time Magazine, in America Most U.S. Schools Don’t Require P.E. Class or Recess.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Chief Inspector of Schools in the UK, has said that a review into PE teaching showed that many teachers talked too much and there was too much emphasis on the theory of exercise, and not enough actual exercise. Also, the more sporting children were often not challenged to push themselves further.

“They were often prevented from exercising for extended periods because teachers interrupted their learning or took too long to introduce new tasks.” Sir Michael Wilshaw.

To ensure that our children are fit and healthy they must exercise. Exercise should form a central part of healthy development and opting out of exercise should not be allowed.

According to the CDC in America, children aged 6 to 17 years of age should do at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. This should be a combination of cardio exercise and strength training. The NHS in the UK also recommends that children aged 5 to 18 years should do 60 minutes a day.

So, both the UK and USA governments recommend that children do 60 minutes of exercise a day. Both the UK and USA governments are spending more money each year on diet and obesity related disease. Yet, physical education in school is often restricted to a couple of hours a week.

In an ideal world children would exercise at home. However, with so many children living in urban areas were there are no safe facilities for exercise, this is simply not an option.

1 Hour of Compulsory Exercise A Day

Sign below if you agree that schools should provide the facilities for children to do an hour of physical exercise a day. The curriculum needs to change. This may mean a reduction in time spent learning other topics, or greater choice early on. Do all children need to learn music or design? Should religious education be given the same weighting as science and history?

Few people develop careers in music or engineering, but 66% of Americans are overweight or obese {FRAC, Overweight and Obesity in the U.S.).

We believe that everybody needs a solid foundation in physical fitness to ensure a life of good health and success. It should not be voluntary, it should not be easy and schools should meet the recommendations of government health bodies by providing every child with 60 minutes of exercise every day.

Sign Below If You Agree

Please write UK or USA next to your name. If we get enough names on the petition we can put this forward the UK and US government education departments.