Society gains from daily physical education

Society Gains of Daily Physical Education The Commission for a Socially Sustainable Malmö (2013) recommends institutions to strengthen the subject of Physical Education and Health (PEH) to all pupils in Malmö schools and the Bunkeflo intervention could serve as a model. The Bunkeflo Model The Bunkeflo project – a health promoting lifestyle was launched in the south of Malmö. PEH was made a daily compulsory subject for all pupils in two schools. Motor skills observations were conducted school years 1, 2, 3, and 9 according to the Motorisk Utveckling som Grund för Inlärning (MUGI) checklist. Pupils in need of extra support were given adapted motor training one hour per week. All teachers in the project were educated in the MUGI model of motor skills observing and training. Statistical analyses after nine years showed that both girls and boys improved in motor skills (balance and coordination) and their learning performance became significantly better, with eight percent more pupils being eligible for upper secondary school in the group with daily PEH (n=129) compared with a control group (n=91) (Ericsson & Karlsson, 2012). Health-economic Analysis of Daily Physical Education Health-economic analyses (Gerdtham, Ghatnekar, & Svensson, 2012) of the Bunkeflo intervention show that daily PEH in all Malmö schools would increase the potential production value by SEK 59 million (Euro approx. 6.4 million) during the 10-year period after compulsory school. The higher levels of physical activity would reduce morbidity costs by SEK 56 million (> Euro 6 million). These values exceed the SEK 16 million (Euro 1.2 million) that costs of staff and premises amount to. An investment per pupil of SEK 4,600 (Euro 500) for all nine compulsory school years would give productivity gains and reduced morbidity costs of SEK 38,000 (Euro 4,130) over the 10 years after leaving school. Conclusion The health-economic evaluation of the project shows that the investment was clearly profitable for the municipality (Gerdtham, Ghatnekar, & Svensson, 2013). References Gerdtham, U., Ghatnekar, O. & Svensson, M. (2012). Hälsoekonomiska utvärderingar. The report accounts for how health-economic analysis methods can be used as the basis for prioritizations when resources are limited. Lund: The Swedish Institute for Health Economics. Gerdtham, U., Ghatnekar, O. & Svensson, M. (2013). Health economics evaluations - basic data for the Commission for a Socially Sustainable Malmö. Malmö: Commission for a Socially Sustainable Malmö. Ericsson I. & Karlsson M. (2012). Motor skills and school performance in children with daily physical education in school - a 9-year intervention study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. Available 2012-04-09 on “Wiley Online”. The Commission for a Socially Sustainable Malmö (2013). Independent commission appointed by the City of Malmö to suggest objectives and actions to reduce inequities in health. Available 2014-12-15 on www.malmo.se/kommission