LEUSD Kids Getting More Overweight, Showing Less Aerobic Capacity

Students in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District are continuing to decline in two indicators of health and physical fitness, according to test results released today by the state.

The 2012-13 FITNESSGRAM® results revealed body condition and aerobic capacity -- two of the six areas assessed annually and considered among the most important gauges of health -- have slipped among LEUSD students. 

According to the test results, nearly one-third of LEUSD students in grades five, seven and nine are “high-risk” when it comes to body condition.

Nearly 4,400 LEUSD fifth-, seventh-, and ninth-graders took the FITNESSGRAM® this year. According to test results, 33 percent of fifth-graders, 31 percent of seventh-graders, and 27 percent of ninth-graders were classified as “high-risk” when body composition was evaluated.

When aerobic capacity was measured, 8 percent of fifth-graders, 19 percent of seventh-graders, and 17 percent of ninth-graders were deemed “high risk.”

With the exception of the seventh-graders’ body composition, the 2012-13 results reveal an increase in the number of students being classified as high risk in the two categories.

The number of students who fell into a “healthy fitness zone” in body composition this year was: 53 percent of fifth-graders, 55 percent of seventh-graders, and 59 percent of ninth-graders.

The number of students who fell into a “healthy fitness zone” in aerobic capacity this year was: 49 percent of fifth-graders, 64 percent of seventh-graders, and 54 percent of ninth-graders.

Children who did not fall into either the high risk or healthy fitness zone were classified as needing improvement.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a released statement today that healthy kids learn better, and the push to improve physical fitness among schoolchildren is “nowhere near the end.”

“To help them succeed in school and in life, California’s young people need more access to physical activity, fresh, healthy food, and clean water,” he said.

Torlakson, a longtime teacher and cross-country coach, launched his Team California for Healthy Kids initiative shortly after taking office to further these goals. The initiative brings together educators, community leaders, athletes, and other celebrities to help schools offer healthy choices to students.

The primary goal of FITNESSGRAM® is to assist students in establishing lifetime habits of regular physical activity. The FITNESSGRAM® is composed of the following six fitness areas, with a number of test options provided for most areas: aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extensor strength, upper body strength, and flexibility. The 2012–13 physical fitness results for schools, school districts, counties, and the state are available on the Physical Fitness Test Results page. For additional information about the Physical Fitness Test, go to the California Department of Education Physical Fitness Test web page.