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Educating the Student Body
On school grounds, age-appropriate equipment and outdoor space that 
are safe and attractive enable and encourage children and adolescents to 
participate in active play (see Chapter 6). Walkways can encourage walking 
during breaks and before and after school. 
The indoor environment is important as well. The presence of gym-
nasiums and other open spaces enables active play. As discussed above, 
mobile desks, standing chairs, physio balls, and other equipment can encour-
age higher levels of energy expenditure in the classroom. Building guidelines 
that specify stairwell placement, classroom design, and building flow also 
have the potential to increase the volume of physical activity during the 
school day (Zimring et al., 2005; Cohen et al., 2008; Nicoll and Zimring, 
2009; McGann, 2013).
Just as the work environment is a factor in employee health, a school’s 
physical environment plays an important role in student health—including 
sedentary behavior. Tremblay and colleagues (2011) find that “there is a 
large body of evidence from all study designs which suggests that decreas-
ing any type of sedentary time is associated with lower health risk in youth 
aged 5-17 years.” Similarly, Kwon and colleagues (2012) note that “breaks 
in sedentary time notably decrease during childhood and adolescence. 
During school hours, boys and girls have fewer breaks in sedentary time 
than during any other period of weekday or weekend days” (p. 1075).
School policies encouraging an environment that promotes physical 
activity and decreases sedentary time are promising obesity prevention strat-
egies (McKenzie et al., 2000; Leung et al., 2012). In some children, changes 
in sedentary behaviors may be important to modify energy balance and 
prevent obesity (Epstein et al., 2004, 2006). A recent review indicates that, 
even considering the varied and limited methodologies of intervention stud-
ies, evidence suggests the effectiveness of strategies designed to reduce over-
all sedentary behavior among children and adolescents (Leung et al., 2012). 
However, much of the existing research consists of studies within the home, 
neighborhood, or community environment (Robinson, 1999; Epstein et al., 
2006; Robinson and Borzekowski, 2006; Leung et al., 2012; Tandon et al., 
2012). Few studies examine interventions that entailed modify ing school 
physical environments and policies to support regular physical activity and 
improved dietary practices (Simon et al., 2004; Newton et al., 2010; Leung 
et al., 2012). New research is being conducted on the association between 
the school environment and healthy eating (Huang, 2013), with plans to 
expand the focus to encompass physical activity and reduction of sedentary 
behavior. Healthy eating design guidelines are being developed for elemen-
tary schools to promote indoor environments that are spatially organized 
to be conducive to learning and health. 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
The Effectiveness of Physical Activity and Physical Education Policies and Programs
 
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