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Educating the Student Body
least 15 minutes per school day and high school students at least 5 minutes 
per school day engaged in vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity 
during school hours. With high-quality daily physical education, enhanced-
quality recess, and vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity inserted 
into usual classroom activities, the estimated minutes per school day would 
be at least 49, 57, and 42 minutes for elementary, middle, and high school 
students, respectively (see Table 2-1). These totals do not include vigorous- 
or moderate-intensity physical activity that might accrue during other parts 
of the school day, such as during the lunch break, or for the upper grades 
movement from one classroom to another.
Active Transport
Students who walk or bike to school average 16 minutes per day of 
vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity during transit (Bassett et 
al., 2013). Currently, approximately 13 percent of primary school students, 
11 percent of middle school students, and 8 percent of high school students 
usually walk or bike to school (McDonald, 2007; McDonald et al., 2011). 
Thus, the average minutes per day of vigorous- or moderate-intensity physi-
cal activity during active transit for all students is 2 minutes for elementary 
and middle school students and 1 minute for high school students. Because 
many students live too far from school to be able to walk or bike (Falb 
et al., 2007; McDonald, 2007; McDonald et al., 2011), a doubling of the 
current prevalence of students using active transport is perhaps as much as 
could be expected without the creation of numerous smaller schools nearer 
children’s homes or major changes in school busing practices. The average 
number of minutes for all students would then increase to 4 minutes per 
day for elementary and middle school students and 3 minutes per day for 
high school students. Of course, for those students who can walk or bike 
to school, active transport provides the full 16 minutes of vigorous- or 
moderate-intensity physical activity.
After-School Interscholastic and Intramural Sports, Physical 
Activity Clubs, and Other After-School Programs
Despite the growing popularity of these after-school activities, no good 
estimates of the number of participants exist. As noted earlier, after-school 
activity programs for elementary and middle school students are estimated 
to add 10 minutes per day of vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activ-
ity (Bassett et al., 2013).

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Status and Trends of Physical Activity Behaviors and Related School Policies
 
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