The Impact of Social Economic Inequities in Government Funded Physical Education Programs

The United States Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that young people (ages 6-19) participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week.¹ A substantial percentage of each student’s recommended amount of physical activity can be provided through a comprehensive school-based physical activity program such as physical education. Ten percent of the world’s school-aged children are estimated to carry excess body fat, which increases the risk for developing chronic diseases later in life.² Out of this ten percent, a quarter of them are obese, with a high chance of having multiple risk factors for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and a variety of other co-morbidities before or during early adulthood.² These statistics are constantly changing as the definition of obesity adapts to scientific evidence and public health. More specifically, the prevalence of childhood obesity is consistently rising among the urban poor, possibly due to their exposure to Westernized diets coinciding with a history of undernutrition and inadequately funded physical education programs. Many of these schools may not have a physical activity environment that supports adequate access to these exercise-related resources, facilities, and opportunities.³ With limited studies focusing on the disparities in school physical activity environments, research has shown that disparities in-school physical activity environments are often socially patterned by socioeconomic status (SES) and race.³ These disparities are also associated with inadequate funding in areas of poor SES. Many times, these social-economic inequities in government-funded physical education programs correlates with various health outcomes in elementary school-aged children