OBESITY AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

GLORIA M. MENDOZA

There is now a bill in the Senate seeking the mandatory inclusion of antiobesity program to the basic education curriculum.

Senate Bill 2873 or the proposed Anti-Obesity Education Program Act seeks the inclusion of anti-obesity education program and exercise, including play and traditional Filipino games, in the pre-school, elementary, and high school curricula. Under the bill, the Department of Education will be mandated to carry out the physical education and sports in pre-school institutions, grade school and high school.

The measure would promote a “healthier” Filipino citizenry as he noted the increasing number of Filipinos who are suffering from excessive weight. Based on the survey of Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 31.1 percent of Filipinos are overweight in 2017, compared to 16.6 percent in 2016. A study by the Philippine Association for the Study of Overweight and Obesity also found that 86 percent of the “at-risk” students, aged 11 to 18, were “physically inactive.” The study then recommended that “policies and programs be formulated that will help students to become more physically active than they presently are.”

Under the bill, Physical Education (PE) instruction in elementary students will include movement experiences and body mechanics, fitness and rhythmic activities, increased cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and sports and games.

Pre-school, kindergarten and elementary students are required to take 200 minutes of physical activity each 10 days. In high school curriculum, physical education will include activities that increase cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength and flexibility, and sports and games.

The bill stipulates that high school students are obliged to perform 400 minutes of physical activity each 10 days or 150 hours weekly, with the equivalent of 30 minutes of physical activity daily. Students who are already engaged in extracurricular physical activities sanctioned by the school are exempted from participating in the required hours of physical activity.

The bill also notes that children with specific disabilities or developmental delay shall also participate in Special Physical Education. With this, special physical education will develop physical and motor fitness, fundamental motor skills and patterns, skills in aquatics and dance, individual and group games, and sports.

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The author is Teacher III at Pampanga High School