J Phys Act Health. 2020 Mar 1;17(3):313-322. doi: 10.1123/jpah.2019-0402.
Schools are a setting in which students learn about the importance of lifelong physical activity (PA). Best practice guidelines indicate that schools should provide students with adequate physical education (PE) minutes and opportunities to engage in PA throughout the school day.
Data from the nationally representative School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study in 2014-2015 were utilized to assess PA practices (including PE) at 412 public elementary schools. These data were linked to state- and district-level policy data from the National Wellness Policy Study to examine the relationships between state law and school district policies and school practices.
Just over half of the schools were in a state with a policy regarding PE minutes. The comprehensiveness and strength of PA policies were higher at the district level than the state level, but were still low overall. Comprehensiveness of PA policies at the state level, but not at the district level, was related to schools within those states that provide more PA practices.
Existence of PE and PA policies at the state level appears to be an important predictor of school PA practices. Having more comprehensive policies at the state level may be an important facilitator of school implementation of comprehensive PA practices.
学校是学生了解终身身体活动（PA）重要性的场所。最佳实践指南表明，学校应提供学生足够的体育课（PE）时间和在整个学校日中参与 PA 的机会。
利用 2014-2015 年全国代表性学校营养与膳食成本研究的数据，评估了 412 所公立小学的 PA 实践（包括 PE）。这些数据与国家健康政策研究的州和地区政策数据相关联，以检查州法律与学区政策和学校实践之间的关系。
略多于一半的学校所在的州有关于 PE 时间的政策。PA 政策的全面性和力度在地区层面高于州层面，但总体仍较低。州一级 PA 政策的全面性，但不是地区一级，与在这些州内提供更多 PA 实践的学校有关。
州一级的 PE 和 PA 政策的存在似乎是学校 PA 实践的重要预测因素。州一级更全面的政策可能是学校全面实施 PA 实践的重要促进因素。
