EDITORIAL: Fla. exercise law is good, needs outside support

‘ ‘ ‘ A new Florida state law has changed the way elementary-school kids go about their day…. ‘ ‘ ‘ A new Florida state law has changed the way elementary-school kids go about their day. Instead of sitting behind desks all day long, the law makes the schools require kids to complete at least 30 minutes of physical education every day. ‘ ‘ ‘ Aimed at battling childhood obesity, this law is exactly what the rest of the country needs. Over the last 20 years American citizens have kept getting fatter, with obesity rates climbing across the country, but particularly along the East Coast and in the South. In 2006, obesity levels among the adult population were between 25 and 30 percent for 28 states, and in another three ‘mdash; Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia ‘mdash; the rate topped 30 percent. ‘ ‘ ‘ Most experts agree that obesity commonly starts in childhood, so battling obesity in children should be a top priority for the whole country, not just Florida. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 18.8 percent of kids ages 6 to 11 are overweight. That’s a huge number ‘mdash; nearly one in five children. And it’s up from just 6.5 percent in 1980. ‘ ‘ ‘ The only problem with the law is it doesn’t make any provisions for accommodating the exercise programs, and with many schools cutting or reducing their phys-ed programs because of budget constraints and pressure to meet stringent No Child Left Behind standards, there’s not much money left for encouraging kids to be active. ‘ ‘ ‘ If a comparable law were to be enacted in other states, or even nationally, there would have to be some allocation for incorporating the extra activities into the daily functioning of the school. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Florida law has encouraged teachers to be creative, and they’ve responded by incorporating exercise programs into other classes like math and music. This does cut down on the problem of low funding by making math teachers into gym teachers, too, but it could affect the quality of the education that kids are getting. After all, if they’re too busy stretching and jumping in math class, they’re not going to learn much math. ‘ ‘ ‘ Unfortunately, a law like this isn’t going to solve anything by itself. Thirty minutes of exercise, while good for the students, is hardly enough to combat overly fatty lunches and a sedentary home life. For laws like this to be effective, they need to be applied in concert with other efforts to get kids to be active and eat healthy. ‘ ‘ ‘ Other schools have tried programs of their own, such as removing vending machines selling candy and soda or offering healthier school lunches. And most elementary schools still have some form of recess, which allows kids to be active outdoors. ‘ ‘ ‘ But unless kids are active both in and out of school, all the laws and programs in the world won’t be able to solve the problem. The United States needs both comprehensive physical education in school and after-school programs that emphasize exercise and activity. Giving children an active role in their physical fitness early makes them more likely to grow up healthy, and that might be the only chance the United States has to slim itself back down.