Sport And Physical Education Sport Essay

Discuss the impact of ‘Sport and Physical Education’ on lifelong health-related physical activity in the UK.

The Be active, be healthy plan (2009 p10) believes “Physical activity includes all forms of activity such as ‘everyday’ walking or cycling to get from A to B, active recreation not undertaken competitively, such as working out in the gym, dancing, gardening or families playing together, as well as organised and competitive sport”.

Sport and physical education is stressed as being an essential part of life, which has a huge impact on both people’s fitness levels and health. It plays a big part in helping to prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes in adulthood, which is why it’s important for young people to understand the benefits now.

Be active be healthy (2009 p11) also states “People who are physically active reduce their risk of developing stroke and type 2 diabetes by up to 50% and the risk of premature death by about 20-30%”.

Not only does exercise have an effect on physical health but also improves physiological wellbeing as it can relieve stress and anxiety, help with personal development and also improve self esteem and confidence.

In recent times there has been more of an emphasis on encouraging young people to take part in more physical activity due to the high rise in obesity levels.

Chinn and Rona (1994) state “Childhood overweight and obesity is increasing in the UK”

This rise of obesity has been strongly linked to the fact that young people are not participating in the recommended amount of physical exercise suggested.

ThePolicy framework for young people (1998 p4) believes“For all young people, participating in at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day should be seen as a minimum. One hour of activity per day represents a more favourable level and is particularly appropriate for children of a primary school age”

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Primary school children are likely to get the recommended amount of exercise due to their general play time and also through physical education lessons. For secondary school pupils they are more likely to get their recommended activity from specific sports and organised physical activity. Not only is it recommended that older children perform the 30 minutes physical activity but also dedicate time to do specific exercises

Policy framework for young people (1998 p3) states“At least twice a week, some of these activities should help to enhance and maintain muscular strength and flexibility”

These types of activities are especially important for children as they are not only helpful at that age but can also be beneficial in preventing health risks in later life. Such benefits include helping with bone mineral density and also osteoporosis.

Although the rise in obesity level is strongly linked to lack of physical activity, there has been some research which contradicts this and does show that most young people are getting the recommended amount.

Armstrong and Welsman (1997) believes “Objective measures have shown that most young people accumulate 20 minutes or more moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week”

Although a lot of young people are getting their recommended amount there are still aims of trying to get more people involved in physical activity. A way in which the Youth Sport Trust is trying to do this is by introducing something called the 5 hour offer. This 5 hour offer gives primary school and secondary school pupils the opportunity to participate in not only school sport but also community based activities.

The PE and sport strategy for young people defines the 5 hour offer as “The Youth Sport Trust and Sport England are working with the DCSF and the DCMS on ways to help local delivery partners increase provision, demand and take-up amongst all young people (5-16 year olds) of their five hours a week of high-quality PE and sport (three hours for 16 -19 year olds)”.

The offer of sport for 5-16 year olds will be made up of 2 hours curriculum PE and 3 hours of sport beyond the curriculum through after school, community and club opportunities. The offer also is extended so that it reaches out to young people between the ages of 16-19. This is a significant age range to target as it is also known as the drop-off age from sport. This is because after young people have finished secondary school, PE is no longer a compulsory subject therefore a lot of pupils will probably lose their only chance of participating in physical activity.

PE matters (2008 p10) believes “For some young people, physical education remains their only structured or organised, regular physical activity. It is therefore crucial that pupils receive their entitlement of at least two hours of physical education a week and that it is of the highest quality”

This is why the youth sport trust are now offering this age range the opportunity to participate in at least 3 hours of other activity rather that the 5 that primary school and secondary school age pupils have the opportunity of getting.

Even though there is a lot of encouragement in getting more people to participate in physical activity there are a lot of influences and barriers that are affecting participation levels. Influences that can have an effect on participation especially in young people are PE teachers. PE teachers can be seen as role models to younger people and therefore have an effect on the attitudes young people have on physical activity. If PE teachers support and encourage their pupils, then they are more likely to take up a more positive attitude to exercise and therefore be more willing to participate in not only school sport but also club or community sport. PE teachers could give society the help which is needed in order to increase the interest in sport which results in more people becoming active and helping to combat the health and obesity issues.

Not only can PE teachers influence participation but it is also said that family and friends can have a big influence on participation levels.

“There is substantial evidence that family and peer modeling and support , correlate with physical activity levels of young people(wold and Anderssen 1992) and that access to appropriate environments can enhance their participation” (Sallis et al, 1990; Sallis, 1993b)

The reasoning for this is because children tend to look up to their parents and friends and are likely to take notice of their attitudes and actions. If their parents have a negative attitude towards physical activity and don’t get the recommended amount that they should be doing, then their children might also take the same opinion. On the other hand if their parents enjoy exercise and took part in sports when they were younger, then their children are more likely to be supported and encouraged to also participate in sports. Friends can also have an effect on participation of others as if you mates are playing and enjoying sport, you are more likely to participate as well. This could not only be due to the health benefits and fun aspects of it but also to the social side associated with playing sport.

There has been a lot of debate recently about alternative activities being classed as physical exercise. This is because the older population may not have the time or money to join a club but yet they can do activities such cleaning and gardening, which some people class as exercise but others don’t.

The Be active be healthy plan (2009)defines the role of exercise as “What unites all physical activity is its effect upon our bodies, raising our heart rate, brining about an immediate and often beneficial physiology response and improving our overall well-being.”

So as long as simple activities such as cleaning and gardening are having that effect on the older population, who maybe can’t do as much as younger people can, then it is still beneficial to that person’s health. Overall in society sport and physical activity can’t be ignored as it helps to improve both a person’s physical health and mental wellbeing. Not only does it provide health benefits but it is also a fun leisure activity and even if it is doing something as simple as gardening then I think everyone should be getting their 30 minutes a day.

References

Department of Health in partnership with other Government Departments, (2009) Be active, be healthy: a plan for getting the nation moving, DH Publications

BIDDLE, S. CAVILL, N. And SALLIS, J. (1998) Policy Framework for young people and health enhancing physical activity, In HEA (1998) Young and Active? HEA Publishing

The PE & Sport Strategy for Young People {Online}. Last accessed 15th April 2010 at http://www.youthsporttrust.org/page/pessyp/index.html

Health position paper – Physical Educations contribution to public health (2008) PE matters

Sport Studies Programme Faculty of Health and Wellbeing

Sheffield Hallam University