Statistics show childhood obesity in Australia has increased dramatically between 1985 and 2004. Children are also not meeting nutrition recommendations, eating less fruits and vegetables and spending many hours watching TV or playing video games in a sedentary manner. PDHPE aims to remedy these issues by teaching students about healthy lifestyles and nutrition, as well as providing opportunities for physical activity. The subject is important as it educates children on healthy choices and gives them skills and knowledge to be physically active, which many may not receive elsewhere. Parents can support these efforts by engaging children in weekend sports and limiting unhealthy snacks.

1. .
So...why teach PDHPE?
Stephen Butler 17499268

2. The Statistics

The 2004 NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey
(SPANS) showed that 26% of boys and 24% of girls in NSW
aged approximately 5-16 years were overweight or obese,
compared with 11% of all young people aged 7-16 years in
1985 (COO 2006).

Adequate fruit intake declined markedly with age. Most younger
children ate enough fruit every day, but only about half of
children aged between nine and15 years ate the recommended
daily amount. A minority of children ate the recommended daily
amount of vegetables.

Children spent an average of 20 hours over a school fortnight in
the 12 months to April 2006 watching television, videos or DVDs
and also spent an average of eight hours playing electronic or
computer games (ABS 2006d).

3. What the Stats Show!

As the statistics show, childhood obesity increased dramatically
in the almost twenty years between the studies. The rise of
video games and DVD's during that period has surely had some
effect, since a lot of time is spent by children in a sedentary
position while playing or watching.

Children are also not meeting the minimum healthy food
requirements, eating less fruit and vegetables than what is
needed, while eating a lot more snack food, which are quite
high in fat and sugar.

The combination of high fat and sugar intakes plus the long
periods of sedentary activities has resulted in an increase in
childhood obesity.

4. How PDHPE Remedies This?

Sometimes, the only exposure to healthy living education
that children get is in their PDHPE class. The PDHPE
syllabus' list of outcomes include teaching students about
healthy food options, the importance of an active lifestyle
and how to balance activity with rest.

Healthy living is a topic that is covered in every stage, with
active lifestyles and nutrition being important from Early
Stage 1, all the way to Stage 3.

Also, PDHPE allows kids the opportunity to try different
sports. This increases the likelihood that a child will find a
sport they enjoy enough to participate outside of school, as
a hobby.

5. Why I Find PDHPE Necessary

The problems that many children face in Australia today are
remedied in PDHPE. Children are getting an hour (or even
more) of moderate to vigorous activity a week, as well as being
educated about how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Without PDHPE in schools, some children will not learn the
importance of a healthy lifestyle and won't be able to make
healthy choices, since they don't have the knowledge.

The exposure to different games and sports is also important,
as it gives children the chance to use all the different movement
skills effectively. Plus, knowing a range of sports helps the
students meet the required physical activity guideline, since
there are more sporting options for them.

The knowledge they gain in PDHPE is important for every child,
no matter what, and is often the only source of this information
for children, which is why it is a necessary subject in schools.

6. How Can Parents Help?

The parents of the children are an integral part of the child's
physical health and should be working together with the teacher
to benefit the health of the child.

Teacher to parent, I would suggest finding a weekend sport that
your child is passionate about. This gives them an additional
workout during the week, which is one step in preventing poor
physical health.

The child's nutrition is important as well. Parents should limit the
amount of snack food that the child eats, with fruit being a great
substitute. By limiting the child's junk intake, the child will adapt
and become accustomed to healthy eating habits which not
only helps prevent obesity but also other health issues, like
diabetes.

7. How Can Parents Help?

The parents of the children are an integral part of the child's
physical health and should be working together with the teacher
to benefit the health of the child.

Teacher to parent, I would suggest finding a weekend sport that
your child is passionate about. This gives them an additional
workout during the week, which is one step in preventing poor
physical health.

The child's nutrition is important as well. Parents should limit the
amount of snack food that the child eats, with fruit being a great
substitute. By limiting the child's junk intake, the child will adapt
and become accustomed to healthy eating habits which not
only helps prevent obesity but also other health issues, like
diabetes.