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Educating the Student Body
GLOSSARY
Academic learning time
A measure used to assess quality physical 
Physical education (ALT PE): education instruction. ALT PE is the time 
during physical education class that children 
are exposed to motor skills development, 
understanding of movement principles, 
attainment of health-enhancing levels of fit-
ness, regular engagement in physical activity, 
socially responsible behaviors in physical 
activity settings, and an appreciation of the 
importance of physical activity engagement.
Active transport:
Modes of transportation to and from school 
that involve physical activity, primarily 
walking and biking.
Adiposity: 
The state of an excess of body fat.
Aerobic capacity (power): 
An indicator of endurance capacity or fitness. It 
is a measure of the body’s ability to process oxy-
gen. It involves a combination of lung capacity, 
size of the capillaries, pumping action of the 
heart, and transfer of oxygen from red blood 
cells to target tissues. It is frequently referred 
to as maximal oxygen uptake or VO
2
max. 
Balance:
A health-related component of physical fit-
ness that relates to the maintenance of equi-
librium while stationary or moving.
Body composition:
A health-related component of physical fit-
ness that applies to body weight and the 
relative amounts of muscle, fat, bone, and 
other vital tissues of the body. Most often, 
the components are limited to fat and lean 
body mass (or fat-free mass).
Body mass index:
An indirect measure of body fat, calculated 
as the ratio of a person’s body weight in 
kilograms to the square of a person’s height 
in meters. 

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Appendix A
 
385
BMI = weight (kilograms) ÷ height (meters)
2
BMI = weight (pounds) ÷ height (inches)
2
×
703
In children and youth, BMI is based on 
growth charts for age and gender and is 
referred to as BMI-for-age, which is used 
to assess underweight, overweight, and risk 
for overweight. According to the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 
a child with a BMI-for-age-and-sex that is 
equal to or greater than the 85th percentile 
and lower than the 95th percentile is consid-
ered overweight. A child with a BMI-for-age-
and-sex that is equal to or above the 95th 
percentile is considered obese. In this report, 
the definition of obesity is equivalent to the 
CDC definition of obesity. Earlier CDC cri-
teria defined BMI-for-age-and-sex as being 
equal to or above the 95th percentile as 
overweight. 
Bone mineral content:
The amount of mineral at a particular skel-
etal site, such as the femoral neck or lumbar 
spine, or the total body.
Bone mineral density:
Determined by dividing the bone mineral 
content by the area of a scanned region.
Built environment: 
The man-made elements of the physical envi-
ronment; buildings, infrastructure, and other 
physical elements created or modified by 
people and the functional use, arrangement 
in space, and aesthetic qualities of these 
elements.
Cardiorespiratory endurance: A health-related component of physical fit-
ness that relates to the ability of the circu-
latory and respiratory systems to supply 
oxygen during sustained physical activity 
(also called cardiorespiratory fitness aerobic 
capacity).

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
386