As health and fitness continue to decline and metabolic risk factors reciprocate with increasing incidence in younger and larger cohorts, the importance of conceptually based university health classes cannot be underestimated. Health classes are plentiful in university course offerings but fewer and fewer institutions require a health-related…

The unrealised and under-estimated value of human motion in human development, functioning and learning is the central cause for its devaluation in Australian society. This paper provides a greater insight into why human motion has high value and should be utilised more in advocacy and implementation in health and education, particularly school…

Given that the health of the nation is often interpreted in and through the health of the nation's youth, the threat of the "childhood obesity epidemic" garners much attention and it is hardly surprising that physical education has been recruited in the "war on [childhood] obesity". This paper explores how students aged 13-15…

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of physical education (PE) interventions designed to foster health features among school-aged children, and to present a qualitative perspective of the different approaches that are most effective in promoting health among youth. Design: Systematic review. Method: An extensive electronic literature search was…

This study investigated the effects of one session of "Yoga Nidra" (relaxation technique) on the breathing patterns/respiratory effort in the thoracic and abdominal chest regions of boys with disruptive behaviour using a Respiratory Inductive Plethysmography (RIP). The participants (n = 7) were aged 10-15 years and attending NSW, Department of…

In physical education, it has become necessary for children to learn kinesiological knowledge for understanding the benefits of physical activity and developing a physically active lifestyle. This study was conducted to determine the extent to which cognitive assignments about healthful living and fitness contributed to knowledge growth on…

How to make learning more interesting is a basic challenge for school education. In this Finnish study, the international ROSE questionnaire was used to survey, during spring of 2003, the relationship between interest in biology and out-of-school experiences for 3626 ninth-grade pupils. Interest and experience factors were extracted by using the…

This article discusses the use of isokinetic and isometric exercise to reduce subcutaneous fat. (JS)

Exercises and classroom activities that familiarize students with the "human body machine" are the focus of this article which addresses the decline in elementary student health and fitness. A reproducible worksheet, "Benefits of Exercise Worksheet", is included. (IAH)

This annual report from the Michigan Council on Physical Fitness and Health describes a project initiated by the Council in l977. "Project Fitness" serves to evaluate the physical fitness levels of all students in the public schools from grades kindergarten through twelve. Emphasis is placed upon early education of children in the importance of…

It is too often overlooked by health professionals that their main concern should be to establish, teach, and maintain good health practices and habits, and that preventing illness is of first importance. (JD)

This paper suggests that the general physical education curriculum in colleges and universities should reflect the changing attitudes toward physical activity in our society. A program of physical education should provide a series of guidelines to the student that will become a foundation for continued biological awareness of the body and for…

This instructional handbook is one of a series of ten packets designed to form a comprehensive course in nutrition for secondary students. This unit discusses the basic concept in nutrition education that if one eats a varied, well-balanced diet it is likely that one's nutritional needs will be met. Information on the fat soluble vitamins is…

This test is designed to measure the functional health of young people. Functional health refers to those factors relating to personal health that can be improved with regular exercise. This test is unique in comparison to other physical fitness tests because of the absence of motor skill items which have no relationship to an individual's…