Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PARQ) clearance has been recommended prior to low-to-moderate exercise involvement. The measure, however, appears to exclude a high proportion of older adults due to false positive responses. To improve this situation, a revised PARQ was developed (rPARQ). The purpose of this study was to compare the number exclusions resulting from the PARQ and rPARQ in 60- to 69-yr-old adults. Participants were recruited from Community Nutrition Centers (97 males, 96 females; mean age = 64.82 yr, SD +/- 2.85). At random, half completed the PARQ or rPARQ on day 1 and the respective opposite instrument on day 2. There was a significant decrease in the number of exclusions resulting from the PARQ as compared to the rPARQ (146 to 128, P < 0.001). Percentage of agreement regarding exclusion/inclusion status between the two measures was 87.6% (kappa = 0.71). Responses for the six matched questions were significantly (P < 0.0001) related with contingency and phi coefficients ranging from 0.40 to 0.58 and 0.43 to 0.71, respectively. These results support the concurrent validity of the rPARQ and suggest the revisions have had their intended effect.

More than one-half of the physicians trained in the United States in 2013 received no formal education in physical activity and may, therefore, be ill-prepared to assist their patients in a manner consistent with Healthy People 2020, the National Physical Activity Plan, or the Exercise is Medicine initiative. The Bipartisan Policy Center, American College of Sports Medicine, and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation called for a reversal of this situation on June 23, 2014.

This study gives an overview of the history of required physical education in America's 4 year colleges and universities and provides an update on the requirement status. After randomly identifying 354 institutions, we searched their respective websites to determine whether physical education was a requirement to earn a baccalaureate degree. The major finding was that the physical education requirement declined from an all-time high of 97% in the 1920s and 1930s to an all-time low of 39.55% in 2010. Given society's ongoing health challenges and the important role of physical activity in maintaining health, this seems counterintuitive. It is also inconsistent with the National Physical Activity Plan (2010).

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