Study Finds Kids Teased in P.E. Class Exercise Less a Year Later
Posted on January 20, 2014
A new study by BYU researchers has found that children bullied in P.E. class are less likely to participate in physical activity one year later. The study found that both overweight and children with a healthy weight tended to exercise less often one year after the bullying occurred.
The participants in the study were 4th and 5th grade students from six different elementary schools in the Midwest. They completed three surveys at the beginning of the study and then completed the same surveys again one year later. The researchers say the results showed a "decrease in physical activity of healthy-weight students who are bullied, and a decrease in health-related quality of life for students who were overweight or obese who reported teasing in the first survey."
Chad Jensen, a psychology professor at BYU and lead author on the study, says, "We hope our study will raise awareness that educators should consider bullying prevention during physical education and free play (recess) when kids may be discouraged from being physically active because of teasing experiences."
The research was published here in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.