Obesity in the Headlines

April 25, 2004 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As obesity grows, schools cut physical education
Activity levels of students drops from years ago

By NICOLE SWEENEY

The 10-year-old Milwaukee girl weighs 250 pounds. She doesn't like exercise, and she even begs for a ride to the bus stop so she won't have to walk.

The weekly gym class at Lincoln Avenue Elementary School is often the only workout the girl gets. And that worries her mother, Linda Massey.

"I feel that if she had gym or something every day it might not be so bad," Massey said.

But daily gym class is out of the question at Lincoln Avenue. In fact, schools from Milwaukee to Racine to the Town of Merton are having trouble just meeting state standards for physical education.

Even districts that meet the state's requirements are slashing time and equipment for gym class, which has some local teachers crying foul. Physical education advocates say cutbacks are hurting a generation already plagued by problems like childhood obesity.

"We want the kids to be smart academically," said Otha Frazier, a physical education teacher at Racine's Case High School. "Well, it's not showing too much intelligence if you're going to destroy the body to prepare the mind."

Elementary school students in Wisconsin must have physical education three times a week; middle school students must get it once a week; and high school students must take 1.5 credits of phys ed in order to graduate. If those requirements aren't met, the Department of Public Instruction can withhold aid.

A matter of funding

But some districts say they don't have a choice.

"Are we meeting the DPI requirements? No. But do I care? No," said Mark Lichte, superintendent of the Stone Bank School District in the Town of Merton.

It's all a matter of funding, Lichte said.

"Until they start allocating what they're mandating, we can't meet their mandates."

DPI doesn't know whether a district is flouting the law until it receives a complaint, said deputy state superintendent Tony Evers, adding that he doesn't know of any districts being investigated for violating the phys ed standards.

"We can't watch every school district," said Jon Hisgen, health and physical education consultant for DPI.

DPI officials don't believe the problem is widespread. The department recently surveyed all 426 school districts about their physical education program. Of the 191 that responded, 82% reported meeting or exceeding state standards.

But state officials are concerned that the budget squeeze will motivate schools to "push the envelope" with the standards, Evers said.

"With school districts facing just enormous revenue control problems, they're trying to find any which way to cut back," Evers said. "And many times, the music, art, and phy-ed areas seem to be the first places that people cut."

In Milwaukee Public Schools, how much phys ed to offer is decided by each school. Physical education is more consistent at the middle and high school levels, said Bob Helminiak, MPS's curriculum specialist for physical education.

The district has 52 physical education teachers for its 118 elementary schools, and schools decide how much time they can afford to keep a specialist in their building. That means some MPS schools offer gym once a week. Others offer it even less than that.

"We would love for all our schools to have a full-time physical education teacher, but the reality is getting really brutal," Helminiak said.

Offerings not ideal

Betsy Kippers, coordinator of health and physical education for Racine Unified School District, said her physical education offerings are not ideal.

Racine's elementary students used to get phys ed every other day. Now they get one or two gym classes over the course of five or six schools days. The district's middle schools used to require daily phys ed, but now they offer it every other day.

"I have a hard time with this because with obesity going up, the only place where kids are getting any physical activity is in the schools," Kippers said. "And now we're cutting back in that area. It's sad."

Phys ed advocates say the problem is exacerbated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which doesn't address physical education requirements.

"No Child Left Behind does play a role in that, there's no doubt about it," Evers said. "With the focus on math and reading and other areas, it leaves the other subject areas that don't have the accountability push searching for support."

That frustrates teachers who teach outside core subjects.

"It should be called 'no child left on their behind,' because we're leaving our children on their behinds, and they're getting bigger," said Gail Milbrath, physical education specialist and health coordinator at Lincoln Avenue Elementary School.

Sixteen percent of Wisconsin children are obese, a rate that has quadrupled since the 1960s, according to Gov. Jim Doyle's office. Obesity can lead to a number of health problems, including diabetes, asthma and joint problems.

Milbrath watches with dismay as activity levels of her students go down every year.

For evidence, she needs to look no further than the school clothing bank she runs for needy students.

"It's unbelievable the number of extra-large sizes we need here," she said.

And habits developed young are hard to shake once students get older.

"We see the results when they get here. It's sad," said Frazier, of Racine's Case High School.

"They just can't do the things a kid used to do, even five or six years ago. It's scary," Frazier said. "We're looking at the future, and we've got kids who can't walk up and down the stairs without breathing hard."

Phys ed advocates say regular physical activity can boost academic achievement.

Research has shown that physical fitness can improve students' concentration and raise test scores, according to the National Association for Sport & Physical Education.

As Milbrath explains: "When they leave the gym, they're smiling, they're sweaty, they're red-faced, and they're ready to sit down and learn."