Background/Purpose: Elementary teachers in the state where this study was conducted are required by law to provide 135 minutes of physical activity for their K-6 students. It has been suggested that teachers who model physical activity are more likely to have physically active students (Morgan, Beighle, & Pangrazi, 2007). Body mass index (BMI) has moderate, negative associations with physical activity participation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the personal characteristics that were correlates of BMI in preservice elementary education teachers.
Method: As part of required coursework, 233 preservice teachers (N male = 9.4%; 51% White, 34% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 6% Other) wore a FITstep™ pedometer or Actigraph GT3X accelerometer for 14 days over the semester and completed a valid survey regarding their attitudes toward physical activity.
Analysis/Results: Logistic regression equation was run using SPSS v19.0. Controlling for age and gender, preservice teachers with higher daily step counts (p <.05), higher caloric expenditure (p < .04) and positive attitudes (p <.001) toward physical activity had a greater likelihood of having a healthy BMI (R2 =.18). Race (p = .08) and year in school (p =.082) were not significant contributors.
Conclusions: Coursework for preservice elementary school teachers should provide instruction on the health benefits of physical activity, introduce the energy balance equation, and foster positive attitudes related to physical activity. These findings are consistent with previous research (Webster, Monsma, & Erwin, 2010).
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