Editorial: School based physical activity: Can it work?

If a healthy body is indeed as important as a healthy mind, it seems incongruous in countries such as the United Kingdom that so little time is devoted to physical activities strenuous enough to elicit health benefits in the school day/school curriculum. This is not a criticism of teachers and those responsible for the education of our children and young people. Simply that organisations such as the Chief Medical Officers of the UK and the Department of Health & Social Care in the United States make clear the widespread physical, cognitive and emotional benefits of a physically active lifestyle for children and young people (Department of Health & Social Care 2019; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2018) and yet we seem to be failing to ensure our young population engage in sufficient physical activity to maintain and promote health and other benefits. Theoretically, at least, school would appear to be the ideal structure and environment through which to ensure almost all children and adolescents have the opportunity to achieve sufficient physical activity to ensure they gain the positive health and other responses associated with a physically active lifestyle. Again, theoretically one could ask if not at school, then where and when?

A number of small-scale studies conducted in schools have clearly shown the benefits of even small quantities of exercise/physical activity on various health outcomes, even in otherwise “healthy” children and adolescents (Smallcombe et al. 2021). Given the focus in many societies on academic preparation and achievement in school it has to be recognised that the typically very busy school day offers little opportunity to increase physical activity for health and well-being. However, as the papers in this special issue indicate physical activity interventions can successfully take place in schools and can elicit benefits.