Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Physical activity in schools across Europe

2012; Wiley; Volume: 37; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1467-3010.2012.01983.x

1471-9827

E. Weichselbaum, Beverley Hooper, Roy Ballam, Judy Buttriss, F. Strigler, H Oberritter, Tohit Bagus, Mairi Ann Cullen, Nieves Palacios, Teresa Valero, Emma Ruiz, Susana del Pozo de la Calle, José Manuel Bermudo Ávila, Gregorio Varela‐Moreiras,

Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Childhood and adolescence is a period of rapid growth and development. Both are influenced by nutrition and physical activity, which therefore play a particularly important role during this phase of life. It is important that young people have an understanding of nutrition in relation to physical activity, good health and improved quality of life, and that good habits are embedded. This is particularly critical in light of the trends in childhood obesity across Europe. The Network of the European Nutrition Foundations discussed the topic physical activity in schools at their meeting on 17 October 2011, which was held in Dublin, Ireland. The discussions revealed that physical activity is part of the school curriculum in most European countries, although approaches differ between countries. This article outlines the nature of physical activity in schools in France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and the UK. It touches on the role of physical activity in the various curricula, as well as the extent of physical activity outside the curriculum. In France, Physical Education (PE) is compulsory from the first year of primary school to the final year of secondary school. In primary schools, a mandatory 3 hours per week is taught, which is reduced to 2 hours per week in secondary schools. Optional additional hours are often offered. According to the French curriculum, the purpose of PE at school is to improve pupils' learning performance and health and to contribute to well-balanced lives. It focuses on the body, motility, activity and self-commitment. The PE curriculum in junior high schools plays a major role in the education for health (fight against obesity and risk behaviours), education for citizenship, autonomy, solidarity, security and sense of responsibility. The curriculum for high schools focuses on training future citizens to be cultured, lucid and autonomous, through physical activity among other things. Physical education teachers are employed by the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Associative Life, whereas trainers of specific sports are employed by the Ministry of Sports. In primary schools, PE is usually taught by non-specific school teachers. In France, PE is primarily associated with the school curriculum, but additional optional activities can also be practiced within school sports associations. The aim of an interactive programme known as ICAPS ('Intervention Ciblant l'Activité Physique et la Sédentarité des collégiens'–'Intervention Centred on Adolescents' Physical Activity and Sedentarity Behaviour') was to increase physical activity and decrease sedentary behaviour by modifying the attitudes and environment of schoolchildren. The intervention was carried out in selected schools and physical activity behaviour patterns were compared with those in schools where no intervention was carried out. The programme was a 4-year (2002–2006) randomised controlled trial. It showed that by including parents, teachers and sports educators in an intervention, as well as changing the environment of schoolchildren by creating more opportunities for physical activity, sedentary behaviour can be decreased and physical activity can be increased. This can help in the fight against obesity among teenagers. The impact of previous programmes (carried out before ICAPS) that aimed to promote a healthy weight in the population through increased physical activity, simply by informing and educating participants about healthy lifestyles, had been limited. As for the programmes targeting physical education at school, these lead to an increase of physical activity at school, but this was not continued outside of school. Unlike these former programmes, ICAPS took into consideration the social, cultural, physical and organisational background (Simon et al. 2011). On the basis of the findings of ICAPS, various authorities now promote physical activity for children and teenagers. The Institut National de Prévention et d'Education pour la Santé (INPES) drafted a guidebook to help educators, teachers, sports clubs and others working with children and adolescents to set up a strategy to promote physical activity. The guidebook presents the steps that need to be taken to implement an ICAPS-type programme (http://www.inpes.fr/icaps). Industry sponsorship is a controversial area, but in France, a number of food companies provide support, communicating the importance of physical activity for children. For example, Kellogg's uses high-profile sportspeople for their communication activities and has produced guidelines to help parents encourage their children to move more. Kraft Foods has sponsored a campaign called 'Manger c'est bien joué' ('Eat well is play well'), which was carried out by the French Sports Foundation and aimed at teenagers. This campaign was launched in 2004 and is ongoing. Danone launched a campaign called 'Faut que ça bouge' ('Moving is a must'), with the aim to promote physical activity among children and teenagers, through a website (http://www.fautquecabouge.com), a mobile sports course (Nutripark) and educational resources for schools. The Danone Nations Cup is a worldwide football cup for 10–12 year old children. Mars, which funded the ICAPS programme, has also funded the organisation 'Bouger' to promote physical activity in underprivileged neighbourhoods. Procter and Gamble created the Sunny Delight Foundation in 2000, which encourages sports among the young. The National Association of Food Companies (ANIA) broadcasts short advertisements on TV, aimed at advocating good nutrition and physical activity: http://www.troplapeche.fr. They star children who have sports, artistic or cultural hobbies and give concrete tips for families to modify their behaviours. The authorities have recognised the programme, launched in 2010, as a tool for prevention and empowerment. This happened following the co-signature of a charter by ANIA and by the stakeholders of the broadcasting sector, under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture. This charter aims to make advertisements targeting children more responsible and to develop the visibility of messages about nutrition and physical activity. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the responsibility for the education system is divided between the Federation and the Länder (states). The scope of the Federal government's responsibilities in the field of education is defined in the Basic Law. Unless the Basic Law awards legislative powers to the Federation, the Länder have the right to legislate. Within the education system, this applies to the school sector, the higher education sector, adult education and continuing education. Administration of the education system in these areas is almost exclusively a matter for the Länder (Eurypedia 2011). In Germany, 'school sport' is the term used for all sport and exercise-related activities in schools. In addition to the mandatory PE, school sport includes voluntary activities, school athletic competition events, participation in national sport events or school excursions with sports themes. PE has developed in recent decades from the 'teaching of sport' to 'movement development' and tries to contribute to the physical, mental, social and emotional development of children. PE is the obligatory part of school sports. The Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder are responsible for school sports. They adjust the curricula and approaches for curricular and extra-curricular sport to the different types of schools. The curricula are based on current scientific knowledge in educational science and physical education as an area of sports science. Responsibility for the coordination of cross-border matters or matters that concern the majority of federal states in the field of school sports lies with the Commission 'Sport' of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany. In general, two types of curricula exist for school sport in German schools: the so-called sports-oriented curricula and the movement-oriented curricula. The names of the curricula speak for themselves: the first set focuses on the teaching of various sport techniques and skills such as swimming, basketball or football; the second set focuses on interdisciplinary teaching contents such as health and fitness. In 2005, the results of the study on physical education in Germany were presented by the German Sports Federation (DSB). About 8800 students aged 10–15 years, more than 1150 PE teachers, over 100 school principals and 4350 parents participated in the study (Prohl et al. 2005). The study was based on the information collected through questionnaires filled out by students, parents, physical education teachers and principals. The results showed severe problems in German schools in terms of school sport. Every third or fourth scheduled PE lesson does not take place. Teachers are often rather old, the lessons are often perceived as boring or simply not up to date. 'The usual three physical education lessons per week are only on paper but are generally not given', was the criticism of the DSB. The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs welcomed the study (Standing Conference 2005a) and important areas for the improvement of school sports were identified in a joint statement by the President of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, the President of the DSB and the Chairman of the Sports Ministers' Conference on 'The importance of physical education for lifelong sports' (Standing Conference 2005b). The Irish National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that all children and young people (2–18 years) should be active at a moderate to vigorous level of at least 60 minutes per day (Department of Health and Children, Health Service Executive 2009). This should include muscle-strengthening, flexibility and bone-strengthening physical activities three times per week. School is one setting that can promote, and where children can accumulate, physical activity. Physical education is offered by all schools as a core part of the curriculum that affects children and young people from birth until 17–18 years. The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework focuses on wellbeing by making children (from birth until 6 years) confident, happy and healthy (NCCA 2009). Physical wellbeing is important for learning and development and should enable children to explore, investigate and challenge themselves in the environment. Schools have long been recognised as a key setting to both promote and contribute to the physical activity guidelines because children spend a large proportion of their time there (Biddle et al. 1998; Tudor-Locke et al. 2006). In 1999, the Primary School Physical Education Curriculum was revised (NCCA 1999) and National Physical Education Guidelines were developed (DES 1999). According to these, PE 'provides children with learning opportunities through the medium of movement and contributes to their overall development by helping them to lead full, active and healthy lives'. In primary school (6–12 years), PE consists of six strands: athletics, dance, gymnastics, games, outdoor and adventure activities, and aquatics. The recommended time is 60 minutes per week in total and lessons are delivered by a non-specialist teacher. Secondary school in Ireland is divided into two cycles. In the junior cycle (13–15 years), the curriculum includes adventure activities, aquatics, athletics, dance, games, gymnastics and health-related activity (DES 2003). The recommended time is 120 minutes per week and it is taught by a specialist PE teacher. The curriculum for the senior cycle (16–18 years) is under development (NCCA 2011a, 2011b). Suggestions include adventure activities, aquatics, artistic and aesthetic activities, athletics, games and personal physical activity, and fitness activities. In contrast to the junior cycle, senior students have the opportunity to choose according to their interests and strengths. For children with special educational needs, adapted physical activity guidelines were developed (DES 2004). A study showed limited adapted physical activity teaching resources and few teachers who desired to have a formal qualification for adapted physical activity teaching (Crawford 2011). Physical activity in school involves not only a quality physical education programme but the use of additional opportunities during the school day such as at break time, active travel and co-curricular activities. These are also important aspects of the children physical education (Marron 2008). Taking these opportunities allows the children to increase their physical activity levels and can occur on a daily basis, unlike PE classes. The Children's Sport Participation and Physical Activity study analysed the implementation of physical activity guidelines (both the National Physical Activity Guidelines and the National Physical Education Guidelines) across Ireland (Woods et al. 2010). The data revealed that 19% of primary and 12% of post-primary schoolchildren met the National Physical Activity Guidelines recommendation three times per week. The National Physical Education Guidelines were reached by 35% of primary and 10% of post-primary pupils. On average, primary students receive 46 minutes PE per week, while senior students receive 77 minutes. Almost half of school principals stated that their PE and sport facilities were 'not at all adequate'. A lack of access to an on-site indoor multi-purpose hall was reported by 81% of primary and 29% of post-primary principals. In terms of extra-curricular sport, 63% of primary and 73% of post-primary students participated at least once a week. This is another time of the school day that schools can provide physical activity for some children. A report entitled The State of the Nation's Children, Ireland revealed that among 41 Western world countries, Irish children (9–17 years old) were the most likely to be (55%) physically active for more than 60 minutes per day on more than 4 days per week (Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Department of Health and Children 2010). Up to 41% of children in Ireland actively commute to and from school (Coulter & Woods 2011; Murtagh & Murphy 2011). If they had the choice, half of Irish schoolchildren would prefer to be physically active after school. For almost half of the children in Ireland, PE is the favourite subject and is among the top three subjects for 78% of students (Coulter & Woods 2011). Darmody et al. (2010) found that when Irish primary children were asked to draw their favourite place in the school, the vast majority of children drew pictures of outdoor spaces, mainly the school yard, sports pitches or school grounds. Physical activity in Spanish schools is categorised into two main areas: within school hours and extra-curricular sports outside of school hours (Fundación Alimentum 2011). During school hours, activity is taken through PE, which is included in the school curriculum (see Table 1). There are also opportunities for pupils to voluntarily engage in physical activity during their recreational period each morning (30 minutes), or for those who have afternoon classes, during the break after lunch (60 minutes). Students can choose the type of activity they want to spend their free time on (Fundación Alimentum 2011). Physical education classes in primary school correspond to three periods of 45 minutes per week, and for secondary school, two periods of 50 minutes per week. Physical education is one of the most popular subjects among students. The subject is well thought of by most pupils, with many agreeing to increase the number of hours of PE per week. The type of physical activity taught varies. Generally, it is not intense and does not meet the minimum international levels of recommended physical activity to maintain and improve health (Fundación Alimentum 2011). The Law on Education (Boletín Oficial del Estado 2006b) states that, by the time a pupil leaves secondary school, they should be able to: analyse the benefits and preventive effects of muscular endurance, flexibility and strength for health; design and implement a work plan for a quality health-related fitness; reflect on the importance of a healthy, balanced diet based on the calculation of energy intake and expenditure. As for activities during recess time, 50% of school pupils spend part of their break being physically active through sport or active games (mainly football and basketball). Primary school children are more active during break time (boys 82%; girls 76%) than secondary school pupils because physical activity and sports are partially replaced by sedentary activities, such as sitting and talking to peers. Again, physical activity levels decrease once children enter High School (16–18 years), with only 3% of girls and 15% of boys regularly exercising during recess (Fundación Alimentum 2011). In fact, there is a general tendency to give up sports practice during breaks as pupils move to a more advanced course. The turning point occurs with the transition from primary to secondary school, between 12 and 13 years. In some schools, sports are promoted during recess through staff performing an active role in organising different activities for pupils (Fundación Alimentum 2011). Physical education needs to be seen as more of a priority by the Education Authorities and it is important that programmes are set in place that help students acquire good physical activity habits outside school hours, which hopefully will last into adulthood. Students must also learn to take more responsibility for their own health and fitness (Fundación Alimentum 2011). The UK comprises four countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), each of which has its own independent curriculum. Physical education is incorporated in the curriculum of all four countries. In both primary (5–11 years) and secondary schools (11–16 years), PE should be taught as a compulsory part of the curriculum (curriculum.qca.org.uk/). The curriculum emphasises the need to ensure that, in addition to developing important physical activity skills, children understand the connection between fitness and health. The Northern Irish curriculum also includes PE as a mandatory subject throughout compulsory schooling. In addition to developing, extending and refining the skills of young people in a range of movement contexts, PE should also help young people to develop positive attitudes towards participation in physical activities in their pursuit of a healthy lifestyle (http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk). The Scottish government expects schools to continue to work towards the provision of at least 2 hours of good quality physical education for every child, every week (http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk). Physical education (health and wellbeing) aims to build physical competences, improve aspects of fitness, and develop personal and interpersonal skills and attributes. The Scottish government also expects that physical activity and sport should take place in addition to planned PE sessions. In Wales, PE is compulsory for all pupils of compulsory school age (5–16 years). The requirements set out the skills and range of activities that should be undertaken during different age phases (wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/schoolshome/curriculuminwales/). The Active Schools Network is a team of people working within the school and the wider community in Scotland. Their goal is to offer all children and young people the motivation and opportunities to 'get active', ensuring there are more and higher quality opportunities for all children to participate in sport within schools and to increase capacity through the recruitment of a network of volunteers, who, in turn, deliver activity sessions in schools. Active Schools try to increase the number of opportunities for all children to get engaged in sport and also try to build bridges with sports clubs and other community organisations to give pupils a 'pathway' to continue their participation in sport outside of the school gates (http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/activeschools/). The Welsh government's Creating an Active Wales aims to increase physical activity levels in the Welsh population. Some of their actions are specifically targeted at the school setting. These include to ensure that curricular and extra-curricular provisions in secondary schools are aligned to provide opportunities for frequent and regular physical activity to improve skill development, fitness, health and wellbeing; to develop a model and supporting guidance to enable schools in both rural and urban communities to put into practice a whole-school approach to physical activity, linking with the wider community such as sports clubs and youth groups; to promote increased use of school facilities during evenings, weekends and holidays; to develop active travel plans, including providing appropriate cycling and road safety training for children and young people; and to continue to support existing curricular and extra-curricular programmes (Welsh Assembly Government 2009). Curriculum Sports Programme (CSP) was set up by the Minister of Education to develop the generic physical literacy skills of the youngest children in Northern Ireland through participation in enjoyable sports activities; to help raise children's confidence and self-esteem, their motivation to learn and their achievements in other curricular areas, particularly literacy and numeracy; and to raise the confidence and skills of primary teachers in delivering physical education. To achieve this, the governing bodies of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the Irish Football Association (IFA) were invited to work with the Department of Education (DE) and its education partners to deliver the programme through the use of a network of qualified coaches. The coaches provide coaching sessions during curriculum time to children in primary schools, with a particular focus on foundation stage and Key Stage 1 (Education and Training Inspectorate 2010). Change4Life is the government's health marketing programme and aims to improve dietary habits and increase physical activity levels in England and Wales. One of the main target groups of the programme are families with children. Change4Life encourages families with children to do at least 60 minutes of a combination of activities a day, which is the government's physical activity recommendation for children and young people. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published reference guidance promoting physical activity in children and young people. It is aimed at those who have a direct or indirect role and responsibility for promoting physical activity for children and young people. This includes those working in the National Health Service (NHS), education, local authorities and the wider public, private, voluntary and community sectors. The recommendations relate to all children and young people up to the age of 18 years, including those with a medical condition or disability (NICE 2009). Some food manufacturers and retailers also promote increased physical activity among children. For example, in 2005, Sainsbury's launched an on-going programme called 'Active Kids', aiming to encourage teachers and pupils to get more active. Customers can collect vouchers when they spend in store and donate them to schools and sports clubs, who can then exchange them for sporting equipment and coaching lessons. The project has been very successful; between 2005 and 2011, over £115 million worth of equipment and experiences were provided. Another example is an initiative by Kellogg's, which has focused on promoting swimming, joining forces with different organisations. Kellogg's has cooperated with the Change4Life campaign, Swim4Life; has worked with The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to help families learn to swim through sponsoring the ASA Awards Scheme; and has launched the Kellogg's Swim Active project to encourage participation in swimming. Since 1996, Kellogg's has helped 50 000 people swim by funding 40 different projects. The European Food Framework (http://www.europeanfoodframework.eu) is a framework comprising a set of competences for young people aged 5–16 years, relating to diet (food and drink), active lifestyles and energy balance, which was established with the aim of improving the health of young people throughout Europe. The competences support young Europeans' development, knowledge and skills relating to their health. Physical activity is an important component of this framework, which can be used both inside and outside the school setting. Physical activity features in the school curriculum of all of the countries included in this article, mainly in the form of PE. However, there is evidence in some countries that schools do not always comply with the curriculum. There are also opportunities for schoolchildren to be active at school outside PE lessons. Studies in some countries suggest that more efforts are required to increase physical activity both within and outside the school setting. As stated at the outset, efforts to increase and maintain physical activity levels during childhood are increasingly important in light of the growing prevalence of childhood obesity across Europe and the implications of this for future health. The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.