Three-quarters of American public elementary schools offer physical education more than one day a week, and 8 out of 10 have daily recess, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
But the report, Calories In, Calories Out: Food and Exercise in Public Elementary Schools, 2005, also found that 7 percent of these schools have no daily recess.
Fifteen percent sell candy at school, and 29 percent do not weigh students.
The report includes findings on the types of food sold in schools and in their cafeterias or lunchrooms; the types of food dispensed by vending machines and school stores or snack bars, and the times when foods are available at those locations; food service operations and contracts with companies to sell food at schools; the amount of scheduled recess and physical education; and the extent to which schools measure students' height and weight and calculate body mass index.
In 2005, schools offered both healthy and less nutritious foods for sale outside of full school meals, although a higher proportion of the schools offered nutritious than less nutritious items.
For example, schools were more likely to offer 100-percent juice (53 percent), bottled water (46 percent), and green salad or fruit (40 percent) than less nutritious items such as french fried potatoes (17 percent).
Most public elementary schools reported daily recess, with the proportion of schools reporting this schedule ranging from 83 to 88 percent across elementary grades.
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