Childhood obesity is a major health problem in the United States where physical education can play a pivotal role in combating this epidemic. In response to this concern, the New York State Physical Education Learning Standards for K-12 students were transformed into a survey administered to a sample of physical education teachers (N=261). Emergent themes for teachers and schools taking action steps to respond to the obesity epidemic were examined.
Method:
Certified physical education teachers and teachers in training were recruited nationally via an online social marketing campaign and completed an online survey developed by the study author (Survey for Physical Education Teachers (SPET). Data were collected on the following constructs: (1) Demographics and Background Information, (2) Teacher Assessment for Standard 1: Personal Health and Fitness, (3) Teacher Assessment for Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment, (4) Teacher Assessment for Standard 3: Resource Management, (5) Perceived Barriers to Effective Teaching of Physical Education, and (6) Obesity Prevention/ Intervention Effectiveness. Data were cleaned and analyzed using SPSS (version 20.0). Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were conducted.
Analysis/Results:
Results demonstrated physical education teachers assess the obesity prevention of themselves and their schools through the role played by teachers. Physical education teachers rated their work in responding to the nation’s obesity epidemic with a mean score of 3.84 (Min=1.0, Max=5.0, SD=.71 or good). As for schools taking actions steps in response to the obesity epidemic, teachers rated their school’s work in responding to the nation’s obesity epidemic as a mean score of 3.23 (Min= 1.0, Max= 5.0, SD=.87 or closest to fair). Emergent themes for teachers’ action steps were the importance of daily physical activity and serving as a role model whereas schools' action steps suggested the need for better nutrition choices in the cafeteria and increased physical education time.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that teachers and schools should support multi-faceted interventions in response to the obesity epidemic. Further, obesity prevention efforts should include more SPET studies, longitudinal studies using SPET, a call to action for government agencies and increased respect for the field of physical education. This study emphasizes the endorsement of utilizing a school-based approach to targeting childhood obesity reduction.