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lum scheduling, this recommendation is equivalent to 150 min-
utes per week for elementary school students and 225 minutes 
per week for middle and high school students.
• Students should engage in additional vigorous- or moderate-
intensity physical activity throughout the school day through 
recess, dedicated classroom physical activity time, and other 
opportunities.
• Additional opportunities for physical activity before and after 
school hours, including but not limited to active transport, 
before- and after-school programming, and intramural and 
extramural sports, should be made accessible to all students.
Because the vast majority of youth are in school for many hours, 
because schools are critical to the education and health of children and 
adolescents, and because physical activity promotes health and learning, it 
follows that physical activity should be a priority for all schools, particu-
larly if there is an opportunity to affect academic achievement. As noted 
earlier, schools have for years been the center for other key health-related 
programming, including screening, immunizations, nutrition, and sub-
stance abuse programs. Unfortunately, school-related physical activity has 
been fragmented and varies greatly across the United States, within states, 
within districts, and even within schools. Physical education typically has 
been relied on to provide physical activity as well as curricular instruction 
for youth; as discussed above, however, physical education classes alone 
will not allow children to meet the guideline of at least 60 minutes per day 
of vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity. Interscholastic and 
intramural sports are another traditional opportunity for physical activity, 
but they are unavailable to a sizable proportion of youth. Clearly schools 
are being underutilized in the ways in which they provide opportunities for 
physical activity for children and adolescents. A whole-of-school approach 
that makes the school a resource to enable each child to attain the recom-
mended 60 minutes or more per day of vigorous- or moderate-intensity 
physical activity can change this situation. 
The committee therefore recommends a whole-of-school approach 
to physical activity promotion. Under such an approach, all of a school’s 
components and resources operate in a coordinated and dynamic manner 
to provide access, encouragement, and programs that enable all students 
to engage in vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity 60 minutes 
or more each day. A whole-of-school approach encompasses all segments 
of the school day, including travel to and from school, school-sponsored 
before- and after-school activities, recess and lunchtime breaks, physical 
education classes, and classroom instructional time. Beyond the resources 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
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