Purpose: Over the last couple of decades, health has become a central part of the subject content in physical education (PE) curricula in many countries. As a result, issues of health have been foregrounded much more clearly in the teaching of PE. The aim of this study was to explore how Swedish PE teachers make sense of health in relation to…

This paper is about 'fat' kids in HPE classes. The motivation for this paper comes as a personal response to my reading of Roxane Gay's book "Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body." "Hunger" is thoughtful, passionate, articulate, sad and overall troubling. It also raised questions for me about whether health and physical education…

There is now a wealth of research on obesity both from biomedical and socially critical perspectives. However, less research has focused on the lived experiences of young children and particularly those who are perceived as 'sedentary'. This paper critically examines the issue of obesity as related to children's experiences of physical…

It has been suggested that physical education (PE) teachers hold strong anti-fat attitudes and that these can have an impact on the health of their students. In this study, we compare the attitudes and stereotypes towards obesity of PE teachers with those of their colleagues who teach mathematics. In addition, we evaluated the association between…

Led by an Australian team who witnessed the proliferation of local and global private companies, foundations and semi-government services seeking to 'partner' with schools, this special issue seeks to unpack global patterns in the 'outsourcing' of curricula. More specifically, using the 'problems' of obesity and mental health, the project aims to…

The purpose of the present study was to examine: a. the development of primary school students' motor coordination (MC) within three years, b. gender as a crucial factor of this development, c. the relationship between MC and Body Mass Index (BMI). Students' performances as well as the BMI of 20 boys and 22 girls were measured throughout a…

Polarisation between the least and most active pupils is increasing both in Denmark and worldwide, and the least active pupils often have poorer mental health and low physical self-esteem. However, the least active pupils' perspectives on physical activity in school are underrepresented in the research. This study explores how the least active…

This study aims to investigate perceptions towards eating habits and obesity in students receiving sports education in Turkey. The sample consisted of 360 randomly chosen students, who received sports education at Firat University, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, Ardahan University and Mugla Sitki Kocman University. The sample was formed by…

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and educational periods in secondary school students. The study was conducted on 832 students, 418 girls (M[subscript age]: 12.99±.83) and 414 boys (Mage: 12.92±.85), who received dual and full-time education in the centre of Sivas Province. As data collection…

Physical education (PE) curricula in many countries explicitly task teachers with the responsibility to support the health of their pupils. However, there are concerns that a prevailing 'healthism' discourse is influencing how PE curricula are enacted. Although we know something about how PE teachers understand and 'teach' health, little is known…

This paper takes on a different address to youth fitness testing from previous literature by applying a cross-cultural comparison of youth fitness testing in both the US and China. Utilizing a modified version of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model, the chronosystem (historical evolution over time), and macrosystem (social and cultural vantage…

Although outdoor play has been widely recognised for the many benefits it affords children, some have rationalised the need for it based on goals related to physical health. More specifically, these instrumental goals have been closely related to obesity, overweight, and/or physical (in)activity. Adhering to obesity discourses and the notion of a…

Low physical activity and sedentary lifestyle have been contributing to overweight/obesity in children worldwide. In response to this, school health and physical education (HPE) programmes have been introduced to assist children to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. Teacher education colleges have been introducing training programmes to…

The aim of this paper was to gain an understanding of the views of a group of physical education teacher educators on the purpose(s) of school physical education and whether, how and why these views have changed over time. Semi-structured individual interviews were carried out with thirteen physical education teacher educators; a fourteenth…

Children's physical education in early childhood settings has always been underpinned by an emphasis on play. This is viewed as foundational for child development (movement education, cognitive growth, socialising functions, emotional development). However, where priorities about childhood obesity prevail, increased 'prevention' efforts have…