Physical Education Teacher Education: The Key to Eliminating Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) will be the key to eliminating childhood obesity for the future by preparing physical education teacher candidates in the knowledge and skills they need to teach P-12 students, as well as to prepare them for the sensitivity
and caring needed to teach overweight and obese students. The purpose of this article is to advocate for more time in physical education at all levels of schooling to increase P-12 students’
motivation to participate, to increase their academic achievement, and to increase their skills
to enable them to participate in sport and physical activities for many years. Childhood obesity
has become an epidemic in the last 30 years, and school physical education is the best venue for
educating children about the proper nutrition and exercise needed to control weight. Children
spend most of their time in the day in schools. Budget cuts to physical education are unwise in
our current history, and school “physical activity” programs cannot take the place of educating children on how best to use their physical skills in the future to participate for a lifetime in
physical activities. Quality school physical education delivered by quality physical educators
may be the answer to the childhood obesity epidemic.