In a biennial survey of high school students in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly half said that they had no physical education classes in an average week.
New York City under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s push to increase awareness of childhood obesity has also seen a decrease in physical education classes from 14.4% a decade before now to the current 20.5% of students saying that they had no physical education in the past week.
Dr. John J. Ratey, a Harvard professor and author of “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” cited a 2010 study on the topic from the federal Health and Human Services Department.
“There is shrinking P.E. and recess time for our kids,” Dr. Ratey wrote. “P.E. teachers are fighting like cats and dogs to hold the line on their jobs and worth, at the same time as there is a dawning awareness that we have missed the boat.”
Despite the limited physical education classes Bloomberg has collected accolades from health advocates for recent anti-obesity programs, including calorie charts in chain restaurants, a ban on large drinks that contain sugar in certain settings, and limiting school vending machines based on calorie and sugar contents.
New Image Camps at Camp Pocono Trails has been a leader amongst promoting healthy habits through their summer weight loss camps for kids, New Image Camps is currently offering programs for kids and teenagers through the end of summer.
