More PE Classes Could Lower Childhood Obesity Rates

The researchers compared more than 34,000 participants from over 200 schools with a similar number of nonparticipants from the same schools and found that students who participated in the additional physical education classes had a significantly greater reduction in BMI than the nonparticipants, and as students participated in the classes for a longer time the decrease in BMI grew, with maximal effects seen after three to four years of participation. The program was able to benefit children needing support the most, as the effects were the greatest in children initially presenting with obesity.

In order to slow and ultimately reverse rates of childhood obesity, a global approach is needed. Most children and adolescents attend school daily, making compulsory PE classes a potentially important and effective solution for preventing and treating childhood obesity at the population level.