Education

an unrecognized agent of change in combating inactivity-related diseases 579 ABSTRACT Physical activity patterns during the young adult years are likely to be important influences on habitual physical activity during overall adult life and, con-sequently, have significant implications for long-term health outcomes. The potential reach and impact of college physical education on the promotion of physical activity to a large segment of the American population has been largely unrecognized. Over the last generation, many colleges and universities have reduced or eliminated their physi-cal education requirements. Nonetheless, physical education can make important con-tributions in the primary prevention of inactivity-related chronic diseases and to the general education of the college student. Awareness and advocacy are needed to strengthen college physical education programs. SEDENTARINESS AMONG AMERICANS of all ages has become a major publichealth problem (Sparling et al. 2000). National campaigns and research ini-tiatives to promote regular physical activity have targeted school children, the middle-aged, and older adults (King, Rejeski, and Buchner 1998; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2002; Stone et al. 1998).Yet, the college student population, which comprises a large proportion of all young adults, has remained relatively overlooked (Leslie, Sparling, and Owen 2001).This lack of attention is associate