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

Heontae Kim,Seungho Ryu,Paul Loprinzi,Minsoo Kang

doi:10.3390/ijerph17072357

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.

Highlights

According to the National Association of State Boards of Education, physical education is defined as “focused on teaching school-aged children the science and methods of physically active, healthful living” [1]
On average across the four Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (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 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is an ongoing survey as well as a nationally representative, cross-sectional, and school-based survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1991 for focusing exclusively on health-risk behaviors

Summary

Introduction

According to the National Association of State Boards of Education, physical education is defined as “focused on teaching school-aged children the science and methods of physically active, healthful living” [1]. Participation in physical education is associated with numerous benefits [2,3], including favorable social [4,5,6], affective [7,8], and cognition [9,10] outcomes. Participating in physical education is positively related to increased academic performance [11]. Physical activity is defined as “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure” [12]. Physical activity is associated with various positive effects, such as reductions. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2357; doi:10.3390/ijerph17072357 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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