Starting the Research Process Review

Starting the Research Process

Review of an educational research report

Mejia, Anne Downs. (Jun 2005). "Pediatric Physical Activity and Fitness."

Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal / Retrieved 4 Aug 2007 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3953/is_200506/ai_n13643287/pg

Comprehensive overview of the "Introduction" (Abstract) and "Literature Review"

The aim of the research report article "Pediatric Physical Activity and Fitness" is to assess the harms done to childhood fitness through the elimination of in-school Physical Education (PE) classes. It also examines how students' ability to walk or bike to school and after-school activities affects students' physical and cognitive well-being. The author feels that it is important to study this topic area because physical activity confers so many positive health benefits to children and also to society, because of the cost of health care. The increase of childhood obesity is one of the reasons for the explosion of Type II Diabetes in teens (Mejia 2005:2).Also, childhood obesity is an area in which educators and healthcare providers are capable of taking immediate, proactive action upon the school level that will help children improve their lives. The author directly communicates the need to study this topic in the introduction section by ending the introduction with a rallying cry: "at the School Level, we [all] can become active volunteers or consultants to enhance physical activity in the school environment" (Mejia 2005: 1).

The primary research question or hypothesis of this research project is not if physical activity is good, but what types of programs and changes can help increase physical movement throughout the school day. In support of her thesis, the author cites 45 separate research references to defend the importance of her project and the necessity of physical education.

The benchmark studies referenced in the body of this paper include the Surgeon General's most recent report on the state of physical activity and health in Americans, as released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1996 (Mejia 2005:4). Daily participation in PE by high school students dropped from 42% in 1991 to 25% in 1995. Only 19% of all high school students reported being physically active for 20 minutes or more in the physical education classes they did attend. Children walked or rode bicycles much less than in the past, 40% less than in 1977. Children made only 31% of trips to or from school of 1 mile or less by walking, and only 2% rode a bicycle to school (Mejia 2005: 1). Thus, lowered participation in informal and formal activity within school was statistically demonstrable by an independent authority.

The author reviews such substantiated research to underline the fact that the idea that children are growing less fit and fatter is not simple media hysteria and that physical movement as well as diet has a role in this decline in childhood fitness. Furthermore, she feels there is an inaccurate culture assumption "that solely by virtue of their ages, children experience sufficient amounts of activity. Even very young children are at risk. In a recent report, it was found that only16% of kindergarten programs provide daily PE" (Mejia 2005: 2). In short, kids are no longer getting exercise simply by being kids.

Part II: Summary and answer of research questions

The advantage of the author's approach is that she does not merely target 'childhood obesity' as a vague concept, but specifically targets one aspect of children's lifestyles today that has changed in the past and is a likely component of the obesity epidemic. She targets issues educators can have a concrete impact upon, such as PE classes and the ways children can commute to school.

The researcher surveyed the previous prevalence and decline of PE classes, the increase of sedentary leisure activities, and also the fears of parents that prevent children from commuting to school by foot or by bike. In the literature review, the author examines how minorities, because of fears of community safety and budgetary cuts in PE programs, have been disproportionately hit by the obesity crisis. The harm done to minorities is not simply physical. In one study she cites that physically fit children perform better on cognitive tests as well tests of health, which suggest the disparities in access to school physical fitness programs has hidden societal and personal costs to unfit children.

Her research begins with a physiological study of childhood needs for activity, and then examines feasible policy goals and benchmarks to set. Specifically, modifying school PE is essential so that activity is increased to increase resting heart rate, rather than just assume that activity comes from providing the class. The "most promising evidence for intervening in the area of physical education is a recent report demonstrating that even slight increases in school PE can reduce the number of children classified as overweight" (Mejia 2005:5). One controlled study found that a "mere 1-hour increase in physical education per week resulted in a 31% drop in BMI among overweight and at-risk girls in first grade (Mejia 2005:5) Also of importance is the finding of a broader study that "modifying the PE curriculum is universally effective-across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic status, with girls and boys, and in urban as well as rural settings" (Mejia 2005: 9).