PHE topics

Recently, an article surfaced exposing the culture of body shaming and disordered eating at the University of Oregon [OU], one of the most prestigious track and field programs in the NCAA. The female athletes interviewed discussed how the coaching staff used DEXA scans, which measures one’s bone density and body fat percentages, to determine their training programs [Goe, 2021]. The Director of Track and Field, Robert Johnson stated, “Track is nothing but numbers. A good mathematician probably could be a good track coach” [Goe, 2021]. Johnson’s perspective showcases society’s obsession with the objective experience defined by the numerical outcome. By solely allowing the numbers on the DEXA scan results to dictate one’s training, the human element is being completely ignored. However, practices like using DEXA scans and other objective measures to enhance performance are defended because of the “win-at-all-costs” culture plaguing sports. Johnson has won a lot; 14 NCAA national championships and multiple Olympians have emerged from UO’s program. Some people believe that if an athlete wants to be the best, aspire to be an Olympian, then the experiences of the UO athletes is “the price one has to pay” to be the best. Though, when is sacrificing one’s wellbeing worth the risk?

The “win-at-all-costs” culture is driven by money, power, and success, which makes coaches, athletes, and administrations focus on one part of the experience – winning. And if a team is not winning, then changes on the roster occur and coaches are fired; new coaches are hired but only given a couple of years to build a winning culture, otherwise, they are fired, and the vicious cycle continues. The athletes ultimately suffer the consequences of the cycle. The athletes know, feel, and learn to believe [if they do not already before college], that the only aspect of sport they should care about is winning. For many teams, success is not about the athlete’s personal growth and journey, but whether they won or were part of a winning team. Thus, the objective experience seems to be the only part of their collegiate athlete experience that is discussed and emphasized.

I wonder how many people within the work of physical education can admit what they are doing isn’t working. Kids can say it [Edwards, 2019]. Parents can say it.  Academics who perhaps used to teach can say it.  But can people in the field say it?  And if they can say it, what is the result of this confession?  Frustration?  Blame?  Who is open and willing and free enough to utilize this acknowledgment as a means to do things differently?

The schools have done it [and continue to do it] by replacing physical education with physical activity.  They don’t need a teacher, they need space and equipment, and supervision.  The purpose and success of recess don’t get questioned as PE does.  Its benefits are known and agreed upon — it releases energy, encourages play, offers socialization, and doesn’t have an expectation of an outcome.  A kid can just sit in the grass and be left alone without worry or concern that something specific should be achieved or accomplished.

As practitioners of physical activity, the best way we can provide, promote, and program physical activity that all populations will understand and embrace, is to have clear, concise, and consistent definitions of physical activity and related terms.  Unfortunately, our approach is not clear, concise, or consistent as illustrated by the disparity between the “physical activity economy” valued at $828.2 billion US dollars globally and the 35% percent of the world population that participates in recreational physical activities [The Global Wellness Institute, 2021].

Part of the confusion getting people to be physically active is we have so many definitions or inconsistencies among definitions, for the terms, we try to get people to embrace. For example, Tremblay et al [2017], as part of the Sedentary Behavior Research Network conducted a literature review and subsequent interviews to identify existing definitions of terms used in sedentary behavior research and to suggest consensus definitions for each term. Definitions they found for sedentary behavior, for example, ranged from having a MET value between one and 1.5 METS, to 1-1.8 METS, to less than 2 METS, and included either activities of any kind, sitting or lying activities, or non-upright activities [Tremblay et al, 2017]. These subtle distinctions are important as the definitions may or may not relate appropriately to certain populations, such as those that cannot yet sit or stand or have difficulty sitting or standing.

The awarding of participation trophies is a highly controversial topic. The argument between simply giving awards for participation, compared to giving to only the high achievers, has sparked much conversation. On one hand, people believe that participation trophies are great for rewarding participation and improving athlete attendance. On the other side, it is believed children become less motivated, less resilient, and unable to handle failure or criticism when they receive a trophy for simply showing up [Diller, 2011].

Benefits
A benefit of awarding participation trophies is they encourage children to keep showing up for practices and games. Their attendance in a sport or activity means they are involved with others and are being active. Attendance is an important aspect of many areas in a person’s life such as schooling, sports, family, and jobs. A person is unlikely to be successful by simply showing up, but it is a great starting point and will often lead to more success. Furthermore, an athlete’s attendance in a sport or activity means they are involved with others and being active.

With our students focused on making the varsity squad, getting into their dream college, and which TikTok video just went viral; they are losing sight that their lifestyle choices can have a dramatic lifelong impact on their breast health. The mammary gland in young men and women undergoes significant structural changes during puberty. As a result, chemical and environmental exposures during the teen years can heavily influence breast tissue [Terry et al., 2019].

According to the National Cancer Institute [2020], one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and male breast cancer is on the rise. It’s imperative to highlight prevention techniques in high school. These are the top tips to share with your students to lower their risk:

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Whitehead [2013, p.29] defines physical literacy as “the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activity throughout the life course.” As a concept, physical literacy underpins the Society of Health and Physical Educators [SHAPE America] National Standards and Grade level outcomes for K-12 Physical Education [2021]. SHAPE America, as an organization, offers support, networking, and educational resources for health and physical educators throughout the United States. At present, the concept of physical literacy offers an opportunity for physical educators to embrace a practical and actionable platform that will advocate for quality physical education in the school setting and opportunities for all-age physical activity throughout the community. The following are three actionable strategies physical educators at all grade levels can adopt to establish and maintain a physically literate community.

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For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a professional runner and qualify for the Olympics. I viewed professional athletes’ lifestyles as the quintessential life on repeat: running, eating, running some more, and sleeping; I mean how could one not want to solely focus on the sport they loved? Since I began my post-collegiate running journey, I have always been juggling chaos. From teaching a philosophy of human movement class, helping coach a collegiate cross country and track team, working on my doctorate, sometimes working at a café, and running; life is busy. In the past, my friends and family have asked if I should consider solely focusing on running. Logically, if I had more time to recover, sleep, and reduce the stress in my life, my running might improve. I seriously considered moving back to my hometown in Colorado because living with the Rocky Mountains as my playground would allow me to truly focus on running. I would find a part-time job and run. However, as many people experienced, the COVID-19 pandemic provided the time for reflection to determine what was meaningful in my life.

The pandemic forced many aspects of society to shut down, which meant collegiate sports were not happening and the café I worked at closed temporarily. Due to the situation, I was finally living the professional athlete life I had always envisioned. From March through August of 2020 I was focused solely on running. I was just running, eating, and sleeping on repeat. Initially, I was excited for the extra time to focus on myself and improve some of the areas of my training that are neglected due to the normal chaos of life. My stress was nonexistent, and I was consistently sleeping more than I ever had, even taking naps during the day, which were benefitting my training. I drove to the local mountain weekly and sought out soft surfaces daily, which I was unable to do pre-COVID-19 due to time constraints. I used to solely run from my apartment for easy runs and workouts. I was only able to drive to soft surfaces on the weekends when I had more time.