>> cheryl: welcome to "beyond the headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. today we're talking about the decline of physical education and the importance of it in our schools. the state board of education uses the test called the physical gram for students.

it's divided into six different fitness areas, according to the california department of education, only 29% of fifth graders meet the requirements of all six areas of physical fitness. that number is shocking. however, there is one local asset we tha we have. dr. amy chow, three-time olympic gold medalist pediatrician. she is now a pediatrician at california medical association. >> thank you so much for having me. >> i understand, you were only three when you were interested in? >> my mother was looking for an activity for me to do. she got me in ballet. but they don't take children until they are five. >> cheryl: how did you do? >> it depended when i was little it was maybe once or twice a

week activity. but i got better and better, and then i would spend five or six hours a day in the gym. >> after school? >> usually after school. >> cheryl: when did you first get your mauled? >> it was in 1996, when i was 18. >> it's in are your blood? >> i think so rice. >> we have images on the screen. tell me whatare looking at? >> this is after the '96 olympics, this is the team gold. >> cheryl: look at that. i'm sure -- did you ever injuries? >> i had a few injuries, not too bad, broken finger, broken toe. we've done it so many times we

know exactly what is going to happen. >> cheryl: how about in college? it was 18 when you first got your medal. did you continue through college? >> i did it in college. i was still involved. by 2000 that is when i went. >> looking at that gold medal? >> yeah. >> how many tests gymnastics? >> four different events for women. we did all four. >> which are? >> the vault. even bars and floor exercise. >> it all looks very complicated. it's amazing. did you do pe when you were in school? >> i did do pe in elementary school. in high school, i was probably doing too much but i did all in elementary school. >> cheryl: being physically

active like that has affected you all my life? >> of course. i try to be very physically active. that is part of my life. i think it should be part of everyone's rice. >> how important is it? we are dealing with obesity and we don't have an answer to that? >> it's very important. to learn at a young age to know how to become physically active and enjoy the physical activity. >> cheryl: what about pe? >> i think pe is good because there is a lot of different varieties of activity. they don't do the same activity all the time. it may not be running or they can do something different. i think there is something for everyone. >> cheryl: it's a tough thing to get them out of the house.

>> exactly. we don't recommend walking more than two hours, two video games, computer and all that stuff. do one two-hour period because we want them to be outside enjoying the sun and doing things like that. >> cheryl: we're going to take a break but we're coming right back. we're going to learn how dr. chow's love of athletics these sweehoney clustery things have fiber? fiber one. almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. uh forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? uh, try the number one!

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>> cheryl: welcome back. we've heard about the childhood obesity problem that is plaguing our nation. a recent study may shed more light on why. how fewer kids are taking p.e. in the state. >> california requires middle and high school student requires 400 minutes of physical education every ten days. but nearly 40% enrolled in a public school do not participate in any school based p.e. class. >> we don't have p.e. in our school because i think kids need physical education. >> it's kind of sad because i think everybody needs. pesmtd. >> more alarms, almost all 12-year-olds participate in classes but by the time they are 17, less than a quarter do.

>> the report himself found more than 80% of all california schools failed to meet the current recommendations. >> why high school students can exempt out for certain reasons bu they blame budget cuts. despite that it shows it boosts academic performance. >> in difficult shl times there are decisions being made both at state and local levels, they don't make sense. when you don't have money, people start doing things that don't make sense. >> they worry about the consequences of cutting it out. pediatrician which is also an aassemblyman seeing his patients get heavier. >> with the obesity epidemic we have to make sure the kids have good health habits. >> if the tax hikes don't get extended, schools could see bill

on yons more in budget cuts. -- billions more in budget cuts. >> we're continuing our discussion with dr. amy chow, three-time olympic medalist. she is now a pediatrician at the california medical foundation. the benefits of p.e., there are so many benefits. >> it's academic performance. they are able to concentrate better. >> more discipline, too? >> right through life. >> so it raises the question. people that were overweight and out of shape but it goes beyond that. there are mental issues, too? >> exactly. they have a little bit of depression, low self-esteem. other things you can think

about. obesity means high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. >> cheryl: how does it turn out when they are adults? >> it leads to greater and greater problems. adults are dealing with heart problems and things like that. if you are obesity can occur at an earlier age. >> cheryl: i've seen people are having heart trouble now that present disposes to big problems? >> right. >> so are there some activities, i know gymnastics is good? >> right. i think any kind of activity. you need to get your heart rate up. brisk walk. jogging, biking, soccer, any of those activities. >> you can still go and do it?

>> you can do things on your own. get a group of friends together, play basketball. get friends out to bike with you. things like that. [ laughter ] >> cheryl: you've said for all these years, but parents are not -- >> you it's the load on the bones and increases bone density so it prevents fractures. i think the benefits definitely outweigh the risks rice. >>. >> cheryl: and people that are worried about their bones? >>ally it's especially helpful. >> cheryl: if you start out in shape are there times you should limit the bike on. five or ten minutes? >> we recommend for children, one hour of activity a day.

so if they are not able to tolerate when they first begin because they haven't done any activity. you start easy, 15-20 minutes. then you bring it up to 30 minutes. then pretty soon you are up to an hour that is recommended. >> cheryl: an hour for kids, only two hours for most? >> right. >> cheryl: obviously you want to combine diet for this? >> exactly. we have five means five fruits and vegetables a day. not more than two hours. one hour activity a day and zero suite beverages. >> cheryl: when we come back, we're going to take a look how physical education is8ñ@ñ@ñ@(@((

>> cheryl: welcome back to "beyond the headlines." we've been talking about physical activity and how a lack of it can have a severe effect

on young people. parents can take their go to court. california court of appeals made a ruling that parents can force educators can provide the minimum amount of physical activity provided by state law. california's education code requires elementary school requires 200 minutes every ten days but more than half of schools failed to provide those in in 2009 albany school contradict believed that cornell was not meeting the minimum and sued the district. they offere they the judge in court. joining me is bill huyette superintendent of berkeley unified school district. >> thank you for having me on the show. >> p.e. always gets cut first? >> it's so important. we really believe in healthy bodies, healthy minds.

we do have the required number of minutes in all schools and very fine nutrition program that is really first in the nation. >> cheryl: tell me about that? >> we actually serve breakfast to every student in our schools. we also have an organic lunch program. u.c. davis has done a study on our program, it shows it's changed the eating habits of young people. they have showed that through their research. so they want to have vegetables and fruits more than sweets. having good protein in the morning and not having sugars makes a big difference in learning. >> cheryl: so when they get to the pe part of it they have the energy? >> that's right. >> so what kind of activities? >> in elementary schools, all of our schools have p.e. program where they have a combination of the teachers doing physical

education and specialists coming in, as well. in many, most of our schools, we integrate that into that, as well. dance is a great physical education program. we heard from the previous speaker about that. and middle school and high schools we provide regular classes. >> do kids cut p.e.? >> no they like the program. sometimes it's overly competitive. that turns kids off. we have activities that are engaging for students. >> it seems like your school has done a lot of things going but other programs around the state are suffering? >> one thing in berkeley, we have great parents and great community. they bring the resources to us. we are fortunate that ptas helps. you are right in a lot of places

in the state, schools are struggling with providing the specialists we need in physical education and training for teachers to provide that. >> cheryl: so berkeley is so far ahead of curve? >> we are. we are fortunate. we are fortunate in our physical education we present and our nutritional program. >> cheryl: sometimes school districts are not supplying the required amount of p.e., did it have to come to that for your district? >> in fact parents are part of school government. they actually help determine programs that we fund and the type of things that we put on. we have great partnerships with our parents in our schools in the programs we provide. >> cheryl: you talked about, you had a minimum amount of p.e. time for your kid. if you cut that, does it affect academics? >> i think it does.

we provide the required number of minutes for physical education. in my opinion, it should be more than that. afterschool programs have physical every single day. we have an afterschool program in every school k-8. we even offer a crew. we are the only where we have a male and female crew team. >> cheryl: you talked about your parents being supportive. would you recommend that for other school districts? >> i think it's important for the school to have a partnership with parents. to involve parents in the school plan and funding patterns. it's important for parents to support their school. >> cheryl: thank you so much for your time. we have to take another break. when we come back we're going to hear about one person [ man ] did we get anything good?

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>> cheryl: welcome back. california is making some progress against fight against childhood obesity but it is a serious problem. according to a new report, one out of every three kids is considered overweight or obese. karina rusk explains why there is good news and bad news in the study. >> reporter: the elementary school in san jose is attacking childhood obesity with a number of programs. this one is called play work. >> play work is all about giving the kids for safe, meaningful play. we want to make sure the kids are getting involved. >> reporter: a new report shows 38% of california sixth, seventh and ninth graders are considered overweight. in the past five years, local members have creeped up. since 2005 there has been 3.5%

in contra costa and 3% in alameda county. many districts are trying to reverse the trend with more nutritious food in the cafeteria. >> they give us salad. >> in santa clara county there is a campaign telling kids to grab water instead of a soda. >> it has to be systemic. if the students and parents stheq we are the role models. >> they have encouraged the childhood obesity numbers appear to be leveling off but much more needs to be done. >> if we don't join this, this will be first generation that will see a shorter life span than their parents. >> what looks like child's play is serious business. >> if you can live longer, have a healthier life physically and

maybe even mentally. >> he is saying about the importance of physical activity. now, the contra costa health department is working to get kids moving. they have created a program called safe routes to school. to increase the number of kids that walk and bike to school. in the studio is shannon ladner beasley, she is coordinator for the program. i love this idea. tell us how it works? >> absolutely. we received a immigrant in 2008 that basically said we would like to see the numbers that students walk to school increase. for whatever reason, west contra costa school district, we have a big partnership in trying to increase that. the students within the district have some of the worst numbers in terms of greatest number of kids that are overweight and obese. it's something we wanted to do a school based approach to get

people moving. to actually go to kids where they spend most time and increase the opportunities for daily physical activity just by walking and biking to school. >> you have a phrase for that? >> we actually have something called walking school day. it's fun. the idea is you get parents who have students at the school and neighbors that are living who support efforts to get students to school on time as well as gives that daily walk before they get there access to nature. getting back outdoors and getting away from the things that keep them immobile. >> and you concentrate on lower income areas? >> our mission is to serve those most vulnerable populations, that is the lower income districts. primarily african-american working families. when we see the statistics are a

disparity, most of the children are the greatest burden in terms of overweight and becoming the next folks to get diabetes we want to focus on that. >> are you seeing good results? >> absolutely. just in terms of excitement. what we do has put encouragement together and walking to school so we can encourage students what they are already doing and possibly change ideas to those that aren't saying i can do it. >> cheryl: and kids on bicycles, the parents get on the bikes and they bicycle with the kids to school? >> it's extremely important. not only do we have parents come in. we have another organization that comes into the p.e. classrooms and does on the road

bicycle instruction. so we can say bike to school but we'll show you how to do it safely. so the bike trains are the next step. everybody can do it. there is a role for everyone. >> cheryl: i know there has to be other advantages in addition to the health benefits? >> absolutely. typically living in school neighborhoods there may be neighbors that are concerned about behaviors. but when we see there is a coordinated effort walking in groups and you have an adult present, either parents or volunteers, they actually see less rowdiness, they see greater respect of property. students get to have fun and have more independence. actual community gets together and they come out of their homes and neighborhoods that are often paralyzed by fear of crime and other things that are happening.

so we see transformed neighborhoods. >> is it easy to get involved? >> it's very easy to get involved. for all the west contra costa uibfied schools, just talk to your principal. we have a great partnership with the superintendent right now that says for any parent group or school that wants to see a presentation on their campus, all they have to do is make a call. get in touch with me and i'm on my way. >> cheryl: what a great many program. we are out of time. a special thanks to all of our guests for joining we have information about everybody available for you on our website at abc7news.com/community. and it's on facebook community affairs. follow me on twitter also. i'm cheryl jennings. thanks so much for joining us. have a great day. we'll see you next time. ♪