District deserves credit for encouraging physical fitness

What a novel concept, that physical education teachers could actually raise the fitness level of students, in a world where a few laps tends to play second fiddle to a good PlayStation 2 game, a cellphone or television show.

But the idea is paying dividends in the Burbank Unified School District.

Students are running farther and faster, and they are stronger and more flexible in less than a year after the district hired a team of physical education teachers and aides who travel from school to school to shape up elementary school students.

The district deserves credit for getting the regimen going. The program is injecting the campuses with fitness standards and an ability to enforce them. That role had previously been given to classroom teachers who understandably, because of the need for more classroom preparation time, didn't have the time for it.

With the new regime, students benefit in more ways than one.

They may not know it, or like it, but they are shaping up ? and that's encouraging in a nation where the percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980, and where 16% of 6- to 19-year-olds are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's a lot harder to learn math and science, or use it in the working world, when you are dealing with diabetes or hypertension ? both of which obesity contribute to.

But the benefits go beyond these students' formative years.

By instilling the value of fitness and a routine for getting and staying in shape, the district is fostering a valuable tool for students as they grow.

If they can get into a habit of exercising, they will be healthier people in the professional world and in their personal lives. Good nutrition plays a role also, but exercise is an important piece of the equation. That translates into a better quality of life. And as adults, much of that life, as technology marches on, is spent sedentary, in front of a computer screen. That's all the more reason to develop the habit to get out and move around early in life.

Students also benefit from the district elementary school program because of its focus.

It used to be their classroom teachers charged with their physical fitness regimen, now they have trained physical education teachers taking the lead.

The bottom line is students need to shape up. This isn't about shaping children into athletes. It's about the district getting them on the right track with good fitness habits, in many ways just as important as math or English.

Now if we can just get art and music back into schools as a regular class ?