Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic. The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed. This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.

Professionals in educational and recreational settings work hard to understand and address the problems faced by underserved youth. Yet the dedicated people in these institutions are often limited in what they can achieve because they tend to remain within the confines of their own work environment rather than sharing their expertise and resources. Instead of accepting this as an unfortunate fact of life, the coauthors of this book see the situation as an opportunity to develop an approach in which the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. In Youth Development and Physical Activity: Linking Universities and Communities, they draw on their considerable teaching experience to present innovative new ways to serve underserved youth. The book describes practical strategies for breaking down the walls between universities and communities so they can combine their strengths to improve young people's lives. You'll find a wealth of guidelines for creating physical activity programs that instill a sense of social and personal responsibility, including numerous real-life examples of successful programs. Youth Development and Physical Activity: Linking Universities and Communities is divided into four parts, each enriched with the colorful "voices" and stories of real kids and youth leaders who have put these ideas into practice: -Part I provides a sobering look at the challenges today's young people face and introduces positive ways to improve physical activity youth programs so they're meaningful in today's world. -In Part II, you'll learn how to move from "how it is" to "how it could be," using a breakthrough model for working with kids and building programs. Here the book provides a road map that shows the way for university students and faculty to connect with youth in their communities through service learning, internships, and other outreach programs -Part III spells out how to develop a variety of proven youth physical activity programs--from adventure experiences and Coaching Clubs to mentoring and teen parent programs. You'll find many great ideas that work in virtually any setting, including public schools, alternative schools, recreation programs, youth service groups, and social agencies. -Part IV provides a variety of helpful tools for evaluating programs and improving outcomes, as well as insights on how professionals can develop the skills they need to respond to the changing demands on youth leaders. Written by professionals with a combined 70 years of experience working with underserved youth, this book is must reading for both professionals and organizations practicing in a world where youth too often slip through the cracks. It provides a clear and hopeful framework for improving the lives of kids as well as the communities in which they live.

This book responds to the needs of urban youth by describing youth development principles in physical activity programs. These programs are built on urban kids' assets and promise rather than their deficits. Included are ways of transferring skills from specific programs to everyday settings.

This title describes current research findings in the study of human performance Experts from all fields of performance are brought together, covering domains including sports, the performing arts, business, executive coaching, the military, and other applicable, high-risk professions.

Sport, physical activity and play are key constituents of social life, impacting such diverse fields as healthcare, education and criminal justice. Over the past decade, governments around the world have begun to place physical activity at the heart of social policy, providing increased opportunities for participation for young people. This groundbreaking text explores the various ways in which young people experience sport, physical activity and play as part of their everyday lives, and the interventions and outcomes that shape and define those experiences. The book covers a range of different sporting and physical activities across an array of social contexts, providing insight into the way in which sport, physical activity and play are interpreted by young people and how these interpretations relate to broader policy objectives set by governments, sporting organisations and other NGOs. In the process, it attempts to answer a series of key questions including: How has sport policy developed over the last decade? How do such policy developments reflect changes at the broader political level? How have young people experienced these changes in and through their sporting lives? By firmly locating sport, physical activity and play within the context of recent policy developments, and exploring the moral and ethical dimensions of sports participation, the book fills a significant gap in the sport studies literature. It is an important reference for students and scholars from a wide-range of sub-disciplines, including sports pedagogy, sports development, sport and leisure management, sports coaching, physical education, play and playwork, and health studies.

This is the first book to offer a critical examination of the delivery of before and after-school physical activity programs, from global perspectives. It introduces key theory and best practice in before and after-school physical activity research and programming, and is an essential resource for educators involved in the design and implementation of after-school programs. With contributions from leading international researchers and practitioners in the field of health and physical education, the book provides an overview of research methods in before and after-school physical activity. It offers insight on theoretical frameworks and the implementation of programs as they relate to policy in schools, as well as an overview of social and emotional learning in after-school programs. The book also explores inclusive before and after-school physical activity programming for underserved communities, covering key topics from Positive Youth Development and urban programming to developing adult leaders and working with LGBTQI populations and children with disabilities. This book is important reading for researchers in health and physical education, and policy-makers, teachers, youth workers and coaches working with children in physical education, health education, physical activity or sport.

The first Positive Youth Development title to focus on the role of sport, this book brings together high profile contributors from diverse disciplines to critically examine the ways in which sport can be and has been used to promote youth development. Young people are too frequently looked upon as problems waiting to be solved. From the perspective of Positive Youth Development (PYD), young people are understood to embody potential, awaiting development. Involvement with sport provides a developmental context that has been associated with PYD, but negative outcomes can also arise from sport participation and school PE. Sport itself does not lead to PYD; rather, it is the manner in which sport is structured and delivered to children that influences their development. Positive Youth Development Through Sport fills a void in the literature by bringing together experts from diverse disciplines to critically examine the ways in which sport can be and has been used to promote youth development.