Medical School, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Am J Public Health. 2012 Feb;102(2):368-74. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300220. Epub 2011 Nov 28.
We determined whether physical education (PE) taught by specialists contributed to academic development and prevention of obesity in elementary school children.
Our 2-year longitudinal study involved 620 boys and girls initially in grade 3 in Australia, all receiving 150 minutes per week of PE. One group (specialist-taught PE; n = 312) included 90 minutes per week of PE from visiting specialists; the other (common-practice PE; n = 308) received all PE from generalist classroom teachers. Measurements included percentage of body fat (measured by dual-emission x-ray absorptiometry) and writing, numeracy, and reading proficiency (by government tests).
Compared with common-practice PE, specialist-taught PE was associated with a smaller increase in age-related percentage of body fat (P = .02). Specialist-taught PE was also associated with greater improvements in numeracy (P < .03) and writing (P = .13) scores. There was no evidence of a reading effect.
The attenuated age-related increases in percentage of body fat and enhanced numeracy development among elementary school children receiving PE from specialists provides support for the role of PE in both preventive medicine and academic development.
我们旨在确定由专家教授的体育课是否有助于小学生的学业发展和预防肥胖。
我们的 2 年纵向研究涉及澳大利亚三年级的 620 名男女生，他们都接受每周 150 分钟的体育课。一组（专家教授的体育课；n = 312）每周有 90 分钟的体育课由客座专家教授；另一组（常规实践的体育课；n = 308）由普通教室教师教授所有体育课。测量包括体脂百分比（通过双能 X 射线吸收法测量）以及写作、计算和阅读熟练度（通过政府测试）。
与常规实践的体育课相比，专家教授的体育课与年龄相关的体脂百分比增加幅度较小（P =.02）。专家教授的体育课还与计算能力（P <.03）和写作（P =.13）成绩的提高有关。没有阅读效果的证据。
接受专家教授体育课的小学生体脂百分比的年龄相关增长减缓，计算能力发展增强，这为体育课在预防医学和学业发展中的作用提供了支持。
