Graduate Program

Family and Consumer Studies

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Semester of Degree Completion

2006

Thesis Director

Karla Kennedy-Hagan

Thesis Committee Member

Kathleen O'Rourke

Thesis Committee Member

James Painter

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the relationships among minutes spent in physical education (PE) class weekly, gender, and race with third graders body mass index (BMI). A survey was given to third graders in approved school districts in one unty in Illinois. Two hundred sixty surveys were used in this study. The researcher found that the BMI of third grade children who had PE class 40-50 minutes per week was statistically significantly higher as compared to the third grade children who had PE 60- 215 minutes per week. It was also concluded that there was no difference seen in BMI between genders. However, among races, Asian children had a statistically significant lower BMI than African American children and the mixed race children had a lower BMI than the African American and Hispanic children. The findings from this study indicate that decreased time spent in PE class can increase a child's risk for obesity in childhood and later in life. PE class in schools can be a vital tool in preventing and treating childhood obesity. More research on children's BMI levels and time spent in PE may be beneficial in persuading educators to allocate resources in daily PE for children.

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