Temporal Trends in the Association between Participation in Physical Education and Physical Activity among U.S. High School Students, 2011–2017

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess trends in physical education and physical activity among U.S. high school students from 2011 to 2017, respectively, and to evaluate temporal trends in the relationship between physical education class participation and physical activity levels. Data from a total of 51,616 high school students who participated in the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) from 2011 to 2017 were analyzed for this study. Physical education was measured as follows: In an average week when you are in school, on how many days do you go to physical education classes? Physical activity was measured as follows: During the past 7 days, on how many days were you physically active for a total of at least 60 min per day? Meeting physical activity guideline was defined as engaging in 7 days per week of at least 60 min per day. Across the 2011–2017 YRBSS, there were no linear (p = 0.44)/quadratic trends (p = 0.37) in physical education and linear (p = 0.27)/quadratic trends (p = 0.25) in physical activity, respectively. Regarding the trends in the association between physical education and physical activity, there were no statistically significant linear (unstandardized regression coefficient (b) = 0.013, p = 0.43) or quadratic (p = 0.75) trends; however, at the sample level, there was a slight increase in the odds ratio effect sizes from 2011 to 2017 (ES = 1.80–1.98). The pooled association between physical education participation and physical activity was statistically significant, OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.75–2.03, p < 0.001. That is, on average across the four YRBSS cycles, students who participated in physical education had 1.88 times higher odds of meeting physical activity guideline when compared to students who did not participate in physical education. The trends of physical education and physical activity did not change between 2011 and 2017. Overall, we observed a significant relationship between participation in physical education and physical activity. There was a non-significant yet stable trend of association between participation in physical education and physical activity over time.

Secular trends in physical activity in adolescents: A systematic review

“…After a thorough analysis, 16 studies were excluded for the reasons shown in Figure 1 . A total of 43 studies 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 reported evidence relevant to our review (see Fig. 2 ).…”

A Comparative Study of Participation in Physical Education Classes among 170,347 Adolescents from 54 Low-, Middle-, and High-Income Countries

“…PE participation has been recoded differently across studies, depending on each study purpose. For example, it has been recoded such as having PE classes on at least 1 day/week [ 9 , 27 ]; on ≥3 days/week and ≥5 days/week [ 25 ]; as the mean number days/week [ 27 ]; as the number of days/week (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) [ 27 , 29 ]; and as never, 1–2 days/week and ≥3 days/week [ 11 ]. Similar to the last study, in the present work, PE participation was recoded into four categories: never, 1–2 days/week, 3–4 days/week and ≥5 days/week.…”

“…Worldwide, the estimated global prevalence of adolescents practicing sufficient physical activity (PA) is low [ 1 ]. Given this scenario, the role of schools and physical education (PE) in promoting physically active and healthy lifestyles has been increasingly recognized as an essential component of the endeavours to develop a more active society, both in policy [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ] and in research [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Several reasons have been advanced as to why schools and PE are of importance in promoting PA.…”

“…These challenges may have a direct impact on the number of opportunities students have to attend and participate in PE classes and, therefore, may be a threat to the effectiveness of PE in promoting active and healthy lifestyles. For this study, and in line with other studies [ 9 , 11 , 25 ], we are referring to the notion of PE participation as used by the underpinning research tool [ 26 ] which asks the students “During this school year, on how many days did you go to physical education (PE) class each week?”.…”

Analysis and evaluation of law number 12 of 2012 concerning higher education based on sports needs for students

“…Physical education as a physical activity that is part of the educational process that can develop physical fitness, body and intellectual organs as well as emotional control, it is stated as follows: Physical education as an aspect of the overall educational process by emphasizing activities that develop fitness, function organs, neuromuscular control, intellectual strength and emotional control (Ryu et al, 2020). Physical education carried out in schools will help the intellectual formation and development of individuals as social beings.…”