Can Conceptual Physical Education Promote Physically Active Lifestyles?

This study examined the physical activity participation of students in a large southwestern high school 1–3 years after they had been exposed to a 9th-grade conceptual physical education program. Comparisons were made to students exposed to traditional physical education. Students were assessed using physical activity questions from the 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Students from the conceptual program met adolescent guidelines for physical activity, especially those who participated in the program in its first year of operation. Females were significantly less likely to report sedentary behaviors if they had been exposed to the conceptual, rather than traditional, high school physical education program.