Addressing the Obesity Epidemic:

Collaboration with Elementary School Teachers

2009 AAHPERD National Convention

Tampa, FL

CharityBryan
University of Louisiana – Lafayette

Donna Dunaway

SamfordUniversity

Donna Hester

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Examples of Moderate- and Vigorous-Intensity Aerobic Physical Activities and Muscle- and Bone-Strengthening Activities for Children and Adolescents (Chapter 3, page 18)
Type of Physical Activity / Age Group
Children / Age Group
Adults
Moderate–intensity aerobic /
  • Active recreation, such as hiking, skateboarding, rollerblading
  • Bicycle riding
  • Brisk walking
/
  • Active recreation, such as canoeing, hiking, skateboarding, rollerblading
  • Brisk walking
  • Bicycle riding (stationary or road bike)
  • Housework and yard work, such as sweeping or pushing a lawn mower
  • Games that require catching and throwing, such as baseball and softball

Vigorous–intensity aerobic /
  • Active games involving running and chasing, such as tag
  • Bicycle riding
  • Jumping rope
  • Martial arts, such as karate
  • Running
  • Sports such as soccer, ice or field hockey, basketball, swimming, tennis
  • Cross-country skiing
/
  • Active games involving running and chasing, such as flag football
  • Bicycle riding
  • Jumping rope
  • Martial arts, such as karate
  • Running
  • Sports such as soccer, ice or field hockey, basketball, swimming, tennis
  • Vigorous dancing
  • Cross-country skiing

Muscle-strengthening /
  • Modified push-ups (with knees on the floor)
  • Resistance exercises using body weight or resistance bands
  • Rope or tree climbing
  • Sit-ups (curl-ups or crunches)
  • Swinging on playground equipment/bars
/
  • Games such as tug-of-war
  • Push-ups and pull-ups
  • Resistance exercises with exercise bands, weight machines, hand-held weights
  • Climbing wall
  • Sit-ups (curl-ups or crunches)

Bone-strengthening /
  • Games such as hopscotch
  • Hopping, skipping, jumping
  • Jumping rope
  • Running
  • Sports such as gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, tennis
/
  • Hopping, skipping, jumping
  • Jumping rope
  • Running
  • Sports such as gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, tennis

Note: Some activities, such as bicycling, can be moderate or vigorous intensity, depending upon level of effort

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington D. C. Health and Human Services.

Action Word Locomotion: Engage students in a creative writing activity incorporating various locomotor skills (run, jump, hop, skip, gallop). Upon completion of their creative story, have the students act out the story. The following story is an example: One day Suzy decided to take a walk through the woods. In the woods, she saw a deer gallop in the distance. Suzy thought that looked like fun so she decided to gallop too! All of a sudden, she came to some trees that had fallen down across her path so she had to jump and jump and jump.

Get Active with Action Verbs: While reading a story to the students, have the students balance on one foot when they hear a passive verb. When they hear an action verb in the story, the students should hop in place on one foot. Have students change feet frequently.

Alphabet Challenge: Have students perform push-ups while spelling a word from the week’s spelling list. Starting in the “up” push-up position, go down while saying the first letter, come up on the second letter, etc. A variation for students unable to perform push-ups, is to remain in the “up” push-up position and lift the left hand into the air while saying the first letter of the word, switch hands for the second letter, etc. Sit-ups can also be used for this activity.

Flash Card Grammar: Create a stack of vocabulary flash cards and during the activity, show one word at a time to the students. Have students perform 1 push up for each syllable in the word. The teacher may add additional activities such as “while in the crab-walk position, define the word…” or “who can spell ______while in push-up position?”

Heart Rate Math: Explain to the students “your pulse or heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in one minute.” Have the students march/jump/run in place for a designated time then find their pulse at the carotid artery and count for 15 seconds. The 15-second count is multiplied by 4 to come up with a one-minute heart rate. The teacher should note that any divisor of 60 can be used (i.e., count for 10 seconds and multiply by 6; count for 6 seconds and multiply by 10; count for 20 seconds and multiply by 3) to work on various multiplication skills.

Upon completion of the calculation above, have students calculate the number of times their heart beats every day. Instruct the students to multiply their 1-minute heart rate (calculated in Heart Rate Math I ) by 60, to determine the number of beats per hour. Then, have students multiply their one hour heart rate by 24. A simple worksheet could be given to each child, based on the following:

  • Heart beats for 1 minute x 60 minutes = heart beats in 1 hour
  • Since there are 24 hours in 1 day, you will need to multiply your 1-hour heart rate that you calculated above by 24.
  • Heart beats in 1 hour x 24 hours = heart beats in 24 hours
  • So, how times does your heart beat in one day? _____

Beside Your Desk I: Have students solve a math problem (add, subtract, multiply or divide) and then perform a flexibility exercise. The answer to the math problem is the number of seconds the position should be held. For example, perform the back-saver sit/reach by sitting on the floor, extending the left leg with the right knee bent, and the right foot flat on the floor next to the left knee. If the math problem is 20 minus 10, students reach hands toward their left toes and hold the position for 10 seconds. Instruct students to reverse the leg/foot position and repeat the hold with a new math problem. Incorporate any flexibility exercise such as hamstring, quadricep, or calf stretches, forearm stretches, hip flexors, neck rotations, and other safe and appropriate stretches.

Beside Your Desk II: Students hold the back-saver sit/reach position with right foot forward while the teacher presents a math problem (add, subtract, multiply or divide). After solving the problem, have the students stand and march the answer to increase their heart rates. For example, 20 x 10 means that students are to march 200 steps in place, or around the room, depending on the space. Various locomotor movements can be incorporated, provided they will help students increase their heart rates during the activity.

Countdown to Good Health: This activity teaches students the importance of eating the right foods and living an active lifestyle. Tell the students to listen for the numbers, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0 in this story. “Every day you should: eat 5servings of fruits and vegetables; drink 4 glasses of milk; eat 3 foods that have whole grains; get less than 2 hours of screen time (tv, computer, video games, etc.); exercise at least 1 hour every day; and drink 0 sugary beverages.” Then have the students stand up and march in place. While the students continue to march, ask them to recall the servings of fruits and vegetables they should eat each day. Since the correct answer is 5 fruits and vegetables per day, have the students do 5 jumping jacks.

Have the students march in place again and ask what the 4 represents in 5-4-3-2-1-0. The answer is 4 servings of milk and dairy, so students complete 4 jumping jacks. The students continue to march in place while the teacher asks what the 3 represents in 5-4-3-2-1-0. The answer is 3 servings of whole grains, and students do 3 jumping jacks. The students will march in place again while the teacher asks “how many hours of screen time should you have each day?” The answer, 2 hours or less of screen time, means that students will do 2 jumping jacks. The students resume marching in place while the teacher asks the students what the 1 represents in 5-4-3-2-1-0. The answer is 1 hour of physical activity per day, and students respond by doing 1 jumping jack. Have the students march in place once again and then ask what the 0 represents in 5-4-3-2-1-0. The answer is 0 sugar sweetened beverages, so students would continue marching in place without completing any jumping jacks. This activity can be repeated using a random pattern of numbering from zero to five.

Food Pyramid Game. Have students work in small groups (ideally no more than 3-4 students per group) to create a poster of the Food Guide Pyramid (found at Each group also needs pictures of different foods to match each segment of the pyramid (i.e., fruit, vegetables, grains, meat, dairy). In an outdoor or large indoor space, using a relay formation, position the food pictures on one end of the space and the group members, and pyramid posters on the other end of the space. Have all students assume a push-up position while waiting for a turn. On the “go” signal, the first person in each group runs (gallops, skips) to retrieve one food picture and returns it to his/her group space. Then the next person takes a turn. Repeat until all food pictures have been retrieved. The students in each group should work together to attach its photos to the correct section of the Pyramid. When all groups are finished, review the food pictures that should be in each section of the Pyramid. Have students move pictures that were placed in the incorrect sections. Repeat activity as time allows.

Muscle mania: Teach students the location of these muscles: quadriceps, abdominal, hamstrings, biceps, and the triceps. Have the students match the exercise (pictured below) to the muscle being used. Then have students perform the exercises for 30 seconds each.

Campus Walk: Prior to class establish a walking route around the school campus. Identify trees, plants, etc. to point out as the students walk by. Prior to the walk, have the studentsrecord their resting heart rates. Form a single-file line and walk at a brisk pace that will increase their heart rates. As you lead the class, point out various aspects of the environment being studied in the classroom. At the end of the walk, have the students take their heart rates again and record it upon returning to the classroom. Students can calculate the percentage increase in their “resting” vs. “activity” heart rates. Extend this activity by calculating mileage on the walk, or by using pedometers to count the number of steps.

School Challenge: Display a map showing the route from your school to a destination being studied in geography or history lessons. Organize a contest among the classrooms in the school to see who can reach the destination first by accumulating steps (as measured with a pedometer – to keep it simple for every 1000 steps, credit 1 mile toward the destination). Time spent walking, jogging,or jumping rope can also be converted to distance traveled (e.g., 15 minutes = 100 miles).

Activities from:

The HEAL Curriculum: Healthy Eating, Active Living. (unpublished manuscript). Birmingham, AL.