Nearly 80 percent of California youth fail the physical fitness test

Of 1 million students tested, only 23% considered themselves to be in good physical shape. Officials say the schools lack emphasis on physical education instruction. Health educators say too many students eat junk food and spend too much time in front of the television, computers or video games. The lax habits come at a time when schools are moving away from fitness while focusing on teaching basic skills and improving test scores.

Physical education class sizes in California reach 60 students or more on some campuses, and in elementary schools, classroom teachers with minimal experience often teach the subject.

The fitness results come from more than a million students across the state who took fitness tests last spring — running a mile, doing push-ups and pull-ups, among other things. Individual schools conducted the study, using fitness standards developed by the research nonprofit Cooper Institute for Aerobics in Dallas. Physical fitness results of fifth, seventh and ninth grade students were collected. To be considered fit, students had to meet minimum levels in six categories, including aerobic capacity, flexibility and upper body strength. The students also had their body fat measured.

Overall, the study paints a troubling picture of the health of California schoolchildren. Among the findings, only 23% of all students tested were physically fit.

Whites and Asians were slimmer and in better shape than Latinos and African-Americans.

The gap reflects the economic and academic chasms between the groups. Leading health experts believe the results are directly related to academic performance. To improve reading, writing and math scores, minority students must improve their fitness and diet with the help of parents and schools.

WOW! This is really sad. Out of 1,000 students, only 230 of them are physically fit. I think they need some personal training.

Physical fitness results for schools, districts, counties, and states are available on the California Department of Education website, http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/.