Download Chapter 3 : Skill themes, Movement Concepts and National Standards

Chapter 4
Physical Fitness and Wellness
for Children
Chapter 4 Key Points

Physical Activity and Physical Fitness are key elements in
increasing years and quality of life - Healthy People 2010
(USDHHS, 2000)

Defining Physical Fitness
 The capacity of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and
muscles to function at optimum efficiency
 The body's ability to function efficiently and effectively
in work and leisure activities to be healthy, to resist
hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency
situations (Corbin, et al, 2001)
Chapter 4 Key Points

Physical Fitness can be positively affected by quality
physical education programs that provide children with
competence, enjoyment and confidence

Goal is for all children to attain positive level of healthrelated fitness
Health-Related Fitness Components
Muscular Strength and Endurance

The amount of force a muscle can produce.
Muscular Endurance

The muscle’s ability to produce that force for a period of time.
Flexibility

The capacity of a joint to move through its potential range of
motion
Cardiovascular Efficiency

The body’s ability to undergo vigorous exercise for an extended
period of time
Body Composition

The amount of fat cells compared to lean body mass
Chapter 4 Key Points


Surgeon General’s report (1996) shifted the emphasis
physical fitness from strenuous, continuous exercise a few
periods a week, to moderate physical activity on all or
most days of the week for an accumulated time of at least
30 min (preferably 60 minutes)
New guidelines for children’s physical activity:
 30-60 minutes of age and developmentally appropriate
physical activity on all or most days of the week
 Additional 60 minutes per day of active free play or
other physical activity
The FIT Principle

Frequency - physical activity most, preferably all, days of
the week

Intensity - moderate to vigorous

Time - 60 minutes of cumulative physical activity a day
Chapter 4 Key Points


Fitness Training Principal (FIT) for children:
 Fun
 Intrinsic
 Motivation
And Two C’s – competence and confidence
Chapter 4 Key Points

Research indicates that physical activity patterns in
childhood and adolescence influences adult pattern

Two recent models outline goals appropriate for children
regarding physical activity
 Children’s Lifetime Physical Activity Model (Corbin &
Pangrazi)
 Physical Activity Pyramid (Physical Activity for
Children Guidelines, NASPE, 1998)
Chapter 4 Key Points



NASPE Standard 3 and Standard 4 identify physical
fitness goals
Regarding physical fitness, the NASPE document
advocates a focus at
 the early elementary level on positive participation in
physical activities
 the upper elementary and beyond, on an awareness
of importance of fitness concepts and development of
skills and knowledge for regular participation
Research indicates that the traditional approach to gains
in fitness scores may have long term consequences such
as lack of interest, motivation and skills needed for
successful participation in later years
Chapter 4 Key Points

Role of Physical Education teachers:


Help children and their parents choose activities they
enjoy to attain and maintain fitness and set realistic
individual fitness goals
Help children develop positive attitudes needed for
active participation
Chapter 4 Key Points

Fitness test scores
•
Purposes
–
Ongoing screening
–
To develop yearly plans
–
To assist youngsters establish personal fitness
goals/remedial programs
•
Become meaningful to students if they are involved
in the recording and analyzing of scores, and provided
with guidance in setting personal goals
•
Recommended that scores should NOT be recorded
for children younger than 4th grade
Appropriate/Inappropriate Practices for Physical
Fitness Testing
Appropriate Practice:
 Teachers use fitness assessment as part of the ongoing
process of helping children understand, enjoy, improve
and/or maintain their physical fitness and well-being.
 Test results are shared privately with children and their
parents as a tool for developing personal goals and
strategies for maintaining and increasing the respective
fitness parameters.
 As part of an ongoing program of physical education,
children are physically prepared in each fitness component
so they can safely complete the assessment.
Appropriate/Inappropriate Practices for Physical
Fitness Testing (cont)
Inappropriate Practice:

Teachers administer physical fitness tests once or twice a year for
the purpose of identifying children to receive awards or to meet a
requirement of the school district or state department.

Children complete physical fitness tests batteries without
understanding why they are performing the tests or the
relationship to their activity level and individual goals. Results are
interpreted based on comparison with norms rather than in the
terms of how they apply to children's future healthy and wellbeing

Individual scores are publicly posted, comparisons are made
between students' scores, and/or grades are based on fitness
scores.

Children are required to take fitness tests without adequate
conditioning.
Promoting Health-Related Fitness in Elementary
Children
Teachers can help children develop the skills and positive
attitudes needed for active participation in physical
activity and assist them in attaining a healthy level of fitness
by:
1.
Providing a quality program of physical education
2.
Promoting additional in-school and out-of-school
physically active and health-enhancing activities
3.
Working cooperatively with classroom teachers and
parents
Chapter 4 Key Points



Physical fitness is only one part of the broader “wellness”
picture which encompasses emotional, mental, spiritual,
interpersonal/social, and emotional well-being
Suggested learning experiences in wellness for
elementary children include nutrition, drug alcohol,
tobacco abuse, personal safety, personal and social
responsibility, and mental/emotional health
Physical education and wellness are ‘intricately woven
together in the quest for optimal health and well-being for
all children’
Wellness Concepts in Physical Education


Nutrition
Personal safety







Bicycle
Auto
Water
Fire
Drug, alcohol and tobacco use and abuse
Personal and social responsibility
Mental and emotional health