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Local, 
State, and National Policy Envir
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Socia
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Volunteer and
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Sector
Business and
Industry
Transportation,
Land Use, and
Community
Design
Parks,
Recreation,
Fitness, and Sports
Neighborhood
Home and Family
Media
Health Care and
Public Health
Physical Activity and
School
Physical Education in
the School Setting
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Introduction
 
23
mote the status quo of decreasing physical activity and increasing sedentary 
behavior among the nation’s youth.
A Systems Approach
A challenge in current efforts to address the problem of physical inac-
tivity among youth has been an unbalanced attention to individualized 
behavior change strategies instead of a true public health approach that 
requires systems thinking (Kohl et al., 2012) (see Box 1-2 for a definition of 
systems thinking). A systems approach posits that schools may act as a focal 
point but alone cannot accomplish the task of increasing and sustaining 
physical activity in youth because multiple systems and sectors in society 
influence the adoption of an active healthy lifestyle. A systematic review of 
recent obesity prevention interventions (Krishnaswami et al., 2012) found 
a significant correlation between engagement with the community and 
intervention outcomes. Capacity building, needs assessments, dissemination