Only one in two schoolchildren get adequate exercise

One fifth of pupils are passive, another fifth are fitness enthusiasts

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Only half of Finland's ninth-grade pupils exercise sufficiently or take physical activities that make them sweat at least three times a week.
      One fifth of the teens do hardly any physical exercise in addition to the compulsory PE classes at school. They take part in some form of sports once a month at the most. However, another fifth are sports enthusiasts who maintain a hectic regimen of physical activities eight to ten times a week. Typically, boys take more exercise than girls.
      The National Board of Education initiated a research project exploring exercise among Finnish schoolchildren, including a questionnaire and a physical test held in the spring of 2003. The questionnaire was sent to about 5,000 pupils and almost 2,500 pupils were tested.
     
The results were compared with a similar study performed in 1998. According to the findings, it is evident that Finnish schoolchildren are in worse physical shape than they were five years ago, while their muscular strength has remained the same.
      The boys in Lapland and the province of Oulu came off the best in the test, while also the healthiest girls were found in Lapland. The weakest results were found in Eastern Finland.
      Curiously enough, there was a certain contradiction between the test results and the attitudes of pupils: in the countryside, the pupils regarded physical exercise as more useful than city children did, although they actually did less sports and even obtained worse test results.
     
In Southern Finland, schoolchildren considered physical exercise rather pointless, but they still do it actively. This could also be seen from the results.
      The pupils who obtained good results in the tests were successful also in Finnish and mathematics as well as in a foreign language.
      According to the respondents, the most important motive for physical exercise is to keep fit, and its effect on the looks comes next. Also meeting with friends and spending time together are appreciated, while the respondents - particularly the girls - do not find competition interesting.
      Walking and jogging are the most popular sports among boys as well as girls. For boys, ball games come next, which are the dominant sports even at school.
     
At school, the PE programme for girls also includes gymnastics, aerobics, dancing, and relaxation, for example through yoga.
      As for outdoor sports, track and field as well as orienteering are the most common.
      Almost all respondents had been skating, but only half of them had had to ski. Moreover, about 80% of the pupils reported that they could swim 200 metres without a break.
     
Meanwhile, some schools are cutting back on the number of physical education classes. However, PE classes should be offered on a regular basis.
      According to Tuulamarja Huisman from the National Board of Education, the basic skills of physical education should be taught already in the lower grades. She states that the current PE profile at school, focusing on fun and experiences, is not enough to improve health and keep pupils fit.
      The real challenge lies in the 20 % of schoolchildren who are passive outside school; they should be encouraged to find a healthy lifestyle that involves physical exercise.


Links:
  The National Board of Education

Helsingin Sanomat