ACRONYMS | |
3DPAR | 3-Day Physical Activity Recall |
AAHPERD | American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance |
AAP | American Academy of Pediatrics |
AARP | American Association of Retired Persons |
ACS | American Cancer Society |
ACSM | American College of Sports Medicine |
ADA | American Diabetes Association |
ADHD | attention deficit hyperactivity disorder |
AHA | American Heart Association |
ALT | academic learning time |
AYP | adequate yearly progress |
BMI | body mass index |
CAT-3 | Cognitive Abilities Test, third edition |
CATCH | Coordinated Approach to Child Health (formerly Child and |
Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health) | |
CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
C.L.A.S.S. | Classification of Laws Associated with School Students |
CNV | contingent negative variation |
CRP | C-reactive protein |
CSPAP | Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program |
DDR | Dance Dance Revolution |
DOE | U.S. Department of Education |
DOH | Department of Health |
DOT | U.S. Department of Transportation |
ELA | English language arts |
ERP | event-related brain potential |
FFMI | fat-free mass index |
FMI | fat mass index |
fMRI | functional magnetic resonance imaging |
GAO | U.S. Government Accountability Office |
GPA | grade point average |
HDL | high-density lipoprotein |
HHS | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
IL | interleukin |
IOM | Institute of Medicine |
IPA | International Play Association |
JROTC | Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps |
LDL | low-density lipoprotein |
L.E.A.D. | Locate Evidence, Evaluate Evidence, Assemble Evidence, Inform Decisions (framework) |
MET | metabolic equivalent of task |
MRI | magnetic resonance imaging |
MVPA | moderate and vigorous physical activity |
NASBE | National Association of State Boards of Education |
NASPE | National Association for Sport and Physical Education |
NCATE | National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education |
NCEP | National Cholesterol Education Program |
NCLB | No Child Left Behind |
NFL | National Football League |
NFSHSA | National Federation of State High School Associations |
NHANES | National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
NIH | National Institutes of Health |
NRC | National Research Council |
PA | physical activity |
PAAC | physical activity across the curriculum |
PAGAC | Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee |
PE | physical education |
PHYSICAL | Promoting Health for Youth Skills in Classrooms and Life |
PTA | Parent Teacher Association |
RCT | randomized control trial |
RWJF | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation |
SES | socioeconomic status |
SHPPS | School Health Policies and Practices Study |
SOCARP | System for Observing Children’s Activity and Relationships during Play |
SOFIT | System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time |
SOPARC | System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities |
SOPLAY | System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth |
SPARK | Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids |
SPED | special education and disabilities |
TVB | TV Basics |
UN | United Nations |
WHO | World Health Organization |
YRBS | Youth Risk Behavior Survey |
YRBSS | Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System |
GLOSSARY | |
Academic learning time Physical education (ALT PE): | A measure used to assess quality physical education instruction. ALT PE is the time during physical education class that children are exposed to motor skills development, understanding of movement principles, attainment of health-enhancing levels of fitness, regular engagement in physical activity, socially responsible behaviors in physical activity settings, and an appreciation of the importance of physical activity engagement. |
Active transport: | Modes of transportation to and from school that involve physical activity, primarily walking and biking. |
Adiposity: | The state of an excess of body fat. |
Aerobic capacity (power): | An indicator of endurance capacity or fitness. It is a measure of the body's ability to process oxygen. It involves a combination of lung capacity, size of the capillaries, pumping action of the heart, and transfer of oxygen from red blood cells to target tissues. It is frequently referred to as maximal oxygen uptake or VO2max. |
Balance: | A health-related component of physical fitness that relates to the maintenance of equilibrium while stationary or moving. |
Body composition: | A health-related component of physical fitness that applies to body weight and the relative amounts of muscle, fat, bone, and other vital tissues of the body. Most often, the components are limited to fat and lean body mass (or fat-free mass). |
Body mass index: | An indirect measure of body fat, calculated as the ratio of a person’s body weight in kilograms to the square of a person’s height in meters. |
BMI = weight (kilograms) ÷ height (meters)2 | |
BMI = weight (pounds) ÷ height (inches)2 × 703 | |
In children and youth, BMI is based on growth charts for age and gender and is referred to as BMI-for-age, which is used to assess underweight, overweight, and risk for overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a child with a BMI-for-age-and-sex that is equal to or greater than the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile is considered overweight. A child with a BMI-for-age-and-sex that is equal to or above the 95th percentile is considered obese. In this report, the definition of obesity is equivalent to the CDC definition of obesity. Earlier CDC criteria defined BMI-for-age-and-sex as being equal to or above the 95th percentile as overweight. | |
Bone mineral content: | The amount of mineral at a particular skeletal site, such as the femoral neck or lumbar spine, or the total body. |
Bone mineral density: | Determined by dividing the bone mineral content by the area of a scanned region. |
Built environment: | The man-made elements of the physical environment; buildings, infrastructure, and other physical elements created or modified by people and the functional use, arrangement in space, and aesthetic qualities of these elements. |
Cardiorespiratory endurance: | A health-related component of physical fitness that relates to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity (also called cardiorespiratory fitness aerobic capacity). |
Child development: | The biological, psychological, and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence. |
Children: | Persons ages 2-11 years. In this summary, refers mainly to persons ages 6-11 years. |
Classroom physical activity: | Opportunities for physical activity integrated into classroom lessons. |
Cognitive control: | Processes that are mediated by networks that rely on the prefrontal cortex. |
Cognitive flexibility: | The ability to quickly and flexibly switch perspectives, focus attention, and adapt behavior for the purposes of goal-directed action. |
Community: | A social entity that can be either spatial, based on where people live in local neighborhoods, residential districts, or municipalities, or relational, as with people who have common ethnic or cultural characteristics or who share similar interests. |
Developmentally appropriate physical activity: | Physical activity that meets/includes the following criteria: (1) orderly sequence of motor skills learning, (2) provisions for individual differences, (3) appropriate goal structures, and (4) ample learning time. |
Disparities: | Differences in quality of health and health care across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. |
Duration: | The length of time spent doing an activity or exercise, usually expressed in minutes (e.g., 30 minutes per occasion). |
Energy balance: | A state in which energy intake is equivalent to energy expenditure, resulting in no net weight gain or weight loss. In this report, energy balance is used to indicate equality |
between energy intake and energy expenditure that supports normal growth without promoting excess weight gain. | |
Energy expenditure: | Calories used to support the body’s basal metabolic needs plus those used for thermogenesis, growth, and physical activity. |
Epidemic: | A condition that is occurring more frequently and extensively among individuals in a community or population than is expected. |
Executive control: | See Cognitive control. |
Exercise: | Planned, structured and repetitive activity designed to target a particular outcome (e.g., a component of fitness). |
Extramural sports: | Organized and supervised sports programs sanctioned by the school system that provide opportunities for competition outside the bounds of a particular school. |
Fat: | The chemical storage form of fatty acids as glycerol esters; also known as triglycerides. Fat is stored primarily in adipose tissue located throughout the body but mainly under the skin (subcutaneously) and around the internal organs (viscerally). Fat mass is the sum total of the fat in the body; correspondingly, the remaining nonfat components of the body constitute the fat-free mass. Lean tissues such as muscle, bone, skin, blood, and the internal organs are the principal locations of the body’s fat-free mass. In common practice, however, the terms “fat” and “adipose tissue” are often used interchangeably. Furthermore, “fat” is commonly used as a subjective or descriptive term that may have a pejorative meaning. |
Flexibility: | A health-related component of physical fitness that relates to the range of motion available at a joint. |
Frequency: | The number of times an exercise or activity is performed, usually expressed in episodes per week (e.g., two times per week). |
Health: | A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. |
Health promotion: | The process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, an individual or group must be able to identify and realize aspirations, satisfy needs, and change or cope with the environment. Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living, and is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. |
Health-related fitness: | The components of physical fitness referred to as health-related components are cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, flexibility, and balance. |
Healthy weight: | In children and youth, a level of body fat at which comorbidities are not observed; in adults a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2. |
Incidence: | The frequency of new cases of a condition or disease within a defined time period. Incidence is commonly measured in terms of new cases per 1,000 (or 100,000) population at risk per year. |
Inhibitory control (inhibition): | Refers to the ability to override a strong internal or external pull to appropriately act within the demands imposed by the environment. |
Intensity: | A characteristic of a physical activity that represents how much work is being performed in a given period of time (i.e., the rate of energy expenditure; absolute intensity) or the magnitude of effort required to perform an activity as perceived by a person (relative intensity). See also Light-intensity physical activity, Moderate-intensity physical activity, Sedentary physical activity, and Vigorous-intensity physical activity, . |
Intervention: | A policy, program, or action intended to bring about identifiable outcomes. |
Intramural sports: | Organized and supervised sports programs of within-school teams and clubs that provide opportunities for all students to participate. |
Light-intensity physical activity: | Physical activity with a rate of energy expenditure of >1.5 to <3.0 METs (>1.5 to <3 times the energy required for sitting at rest), such as strolling, making a bed, or cooking. |
Metabolic equivalent of task: | One MET is the rate of energy expenditure while sitting at rest. It represents approximately 3.5 milliliters of oxygen consumption per kilogram of body weight per minute. |
Moderate-intensity physical activity: | Physical exertion that is equivalent to brisk walking. Such activities are usually done at between 3.5 and 6.0 times resting metabolic rate. |
Musculoskeletal fitness: | Fitness that includes muscular strength, muscular endurance, muscular power, and muscular flexibility. |
Obesity: | An excess amount of subcutaneous body fat in proportion to lean body mass. In adults a BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese. In this report, obesity in children and youth refers to age- and gender-specific BMIs that are equal to or greater than the 95th percentile of the CDC’s BMI charts. In most children, these values are known to indicate elevated body fat and to reflect the comorbidities associated with excessive body fatness. |
Overweight: | In children and youth, BMI is used to assess underweight, overweight, and risk for overweight. Children’s body fatness changes over the years as they grow. Girls and boys differ in their body fat as they mature; thus, BMI for children, also referred to as BMI-for-age-and-for-sex, is gender and age specific. BMI-for-age is plotted on age- and gender-specific BMI charts for children and teens aged 2-20 years. According to the CDC, overweight is defined as BMI-for-age-and-for-sex equal to or greater than the 85th percentile. |
Pandemic: | Prevalent over the whole country or the world. |
Physical activity: | Bodily movement that increases energy expenditure. |
Physical activity breaks: | Opportunities for physical activity provided briefly throughout the school day, such as during morning announcements. |
Physical education: | A planned sequential K-12 standards-based program of curricula and instruction designed to develop the motor skills, knowledge, and behaviors of healthy active living, physical fitness, sportsmanship, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence. |
Physical fitness: | A set of physiologic attributes that are either health related or skill related. Physical fitness is an adaptive physiologic state that varies with growth and maturity status and physical activity. |
Physical inactivity: | A lifestyle comprised exclusively of sedentary and light-intensity physical activities (≤3 METs). Also commonly used to refer to individuals who do not perform the recommended volume of vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity. |
Policy: | A written statement reflecting a plan or course of action by a government, business, community, or institution that is intended to influence and guide decision making. For a government a policy may consist of a law, regulation, ordinance, executive order, or resolution. |
Power: | A skill-related component of physical fitness that relates to the rate at which an individual can perform work. |
Prevalence: | The number of instances of a condition or disease in a population at a designated period of time, usually expressed as a percentage of the total population. |
Program: | An integrated set of planned strategies and activities that support clearly stated goals and objectives designed to lead to desirable changes and improvements in the well-being of people, institutions, environments, or all of these. |
Recess: | Regularly scheduled periods within the school day for supervised physical activity and play. |
Resistance training: | Training designed primarily to increase muscle strength, power, and endurance. |
Sedentary lifestyle: | A way of living or lifestyle that requires minimal physical activity and that encourages inactivity through limited choices, disincentives, and/or structural or financial barriers. |
Sedentary physical activity: | Physical activity with a rate of energy expenditure of ≤1.5 METs (up to 1.5 times the energy required for sitting at rest), such as sitting or reclining |
Strength: | The ability of the muscle to exert force. |
Systems approach: | A paradigm or perspective involving a focus on the whole picture and not just a single element, as well as awareness of the wider context, an appreciation for interactions among different components, and transdisciplinary thinking. |
Systems thinking: | An iterative learning process in which an individual takes a broad, holistic, long-term perspective on the world and examines the linkages and interactions among its elements. |
Vigorous-intensity physical activity: | Physical exertion that leads to sweating and heavy breathing, such as running, basketball, soccer, and swimming; usually done at or above an intensity of 6.0 times resting metabolic rate. |
VO2: | The amount of oxygen consumed per minute by an individual while performing an activity. |
VO2max: | The maximal capacity for oxygen consumption by the body during maximal exertion. |
Well-being: | A view of health that takes into account an individual’s physical, social, and emotional health. |
Working memory: | The ability to mentally represent information, manipulate stored information, and act on it; moving information from short- to long-term memory. |
Youth: | Often used to describe adolescents or teens ages 12-19 years. In this report, the term “youth” is often used to refer to all school-aged children and adolescents. |
Youth development: | The process through which adolescents acquire the cognitive, social, and emotional skills and abilities required to navigate life. |