San Benito County kids are sluggish and increasingly can’t do
things like run a mile or do a dozen push-ups, according to the
California Physical Fitness test report published last week by the
California Department of Education. And while young kids are doing
better with running than their older peers, they are testing low
when it comes to having adequate flexibility and upper-body
strength, according to the findings.
Hollister – San Benito County kids are sluggish and increasingly can’t do things like run a mile or do a dozen push-ups, according to the California Physical Fitness test report published last week by the California Department of Education. And while young kids are doing better with running than their older peers, they are testing low when it comes to having adequate flexibility and upper-body strength, according to the findings.
Only 25 percent of fifth graders, 29.7 percent of seventh graders and 36 percent of ninth graders in San Benito County are considered physically fit, according to the state’s fitness test. However, the results are slightly better than the state average, with ninth graders testing a full 10 percent better than their peers throughout California.
The results are also an improvement over last year, when 22.9 percent of fifth graders and 34.7 percent of ninth graders were considered fit. Seventh graders’ results dropped from 33.1 percent last year.
“We’re excited that we are doing better than the rest of the kids in the state,” said Randy Logue, chairman of the physical education department at San Benito High School. Despite the fact that only two years of PE classes are required to graduate, many kids take more, including weight training, dance, badminton and bowling, he said.
Other physical education teachers and district administrators said they had not yet received the results and could not comment on them.
Over a million California students in fifth, seventh and ninth grades took the test, designed to assess a variety of physical skills considered vital to having a healthy lifestyle. Students are tested on a variety of fitness indicators such as how fast they can run a mile, flexibility, body fat percentage, and the number of sit-ups and push-ups they can complete in a given time period.
The children’s’ performance on the various fitness challenges is then compared to a scale that adjusts by age. For example, an 11-year-old girl has to run a mile in less than 12 minutes to be considered fit and a boy of the same age has up to 11 minutes. In sit-ups, a 16 year-old girl has to be able to do at least 18 repetitions to pass the category.
Despite the slight improvement over the 2002 results, the findings are troubling to local health officials who say obesity is a growing problem in the county where as many as 28 percent of kids ages five through 20 are considered obese, according to the San Benito Department of Health.
“For years, children have been told to sit down and be still, when we now know that they need a lot of physical activity to keep them healthy,” said Muree Reafs, director of nursing at the county health department.
However, Mikeal Bernier, a physical education teacher at Gabilan Hills Elementary in the Hollister School District, said the school makes a strong commitment to physical education and gets ready by doing the same exercises at least a month prior to the test.
“Our kids do 45 minutes of exercise at least four days a week,” said Bernier.
Superintendents at other districts reported a similar amount of exercise activity.
Carole Kemp-Nemiro, a nurse in the Hollister Unified School District, said that kids with high BMIs or Body Mass Index, are continually increasing, a sign that they aren’t doing enough physical activity and making unhealthy choices when it comes to food. Those with high body mass are referred to family doctors for follow-up consultation and treatment, but the district only hears back from five to 10 percent of parents.
This is the fifth year physical test results have been reported in California schools, which are different than presidential fitness test. Some 1,348,000 students in the state take the test each year.
Karina Ioffee covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected]
