Health authorities fret about the increasing incidence of obesity especially among our younger generations. Many students are becoming lazy, slow and less motivated as their excess weight leads to increasing low self-esteem and increased susceptibility to depression and stress.

Educators in Western countries believe that making physical education compulsory in schools could control the spread of obesity. They argue that we are losing a whole generation of young people to video games and television.

But are mandatory physical exercise programmes really fit?

Opposition MPs Robert Cutajar and Mario de Marco introduced a Private Members’ Bill “to promote a healthy lifestyle by reducing obesity”.

Among the measures they are proposing is an obligation “for every student to attend a compulsory number of hours of physical activity”. Perhaps less controversial would be a legal requirement for the compilation of “a list of foods and drinks which could be sold from school canteens as well as regulation on the food that could be sold near schools, at what time and at what distance”.

Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne seems to be broadly in agreement with the aim of the Bill to diminish the incidence of obesity but less so on the way this can be achieved.

Mandatory exercise programmes have been adopted with varying degrees of success in many countries. Before rushing to legislate on how people should conduct their lifestyles, one needs to understand the pros and cons of every new legislative measure being proposed.

There is no doubt that physical exercise is good for all healthy people who care about their well-being and want to live a life as free from physical and mental illnesses as possible. It is also an undisputed fact that when one engages in physical exercise at a young age it is more likely that this habit will persist throughout one’s life. What is less obvious is whether healthy lifestyles that include a regime of physical exercise can really be promoted through legislation.

Some educators believe that imposing exercise programmes on young people is too patronising. They believe that compulsory physical education classes can in many cases do more harm than good, at least to some vulnerable students.

For some students,PE can be a very traumatic experience. They may feel inept because they are not as skilled as their peers or embarrassed about their bodies, especially if they are overweight. A study conducted by the University of Florida cited bullying as a factor that kept overweight children from exercising and, in some cases, completely avoiding PE classes or sport.

Other physical education leaders argue that exercise programmes must be mandatory but that they need to change to reap the full benefits of time spent exercising. They believe that a reformed PE curriculum will enhance the benefits of physical activity including improved self-esteem, better behaviour and decreased instances of depression and stress. These ‘reformists’ also believe that mandatory PE helps students “to have better attention and focus, improved problem solving abilities, better working memory and, surprisingly, a general improvement in both reading and maths scores”.

While controlling the obesity epidemic will always remain a top medical priority for health professionals, a paradigm shift in the way we look at fitness and wellness could bring out the great physical, intellectual and social benefits that can accrue from becoming a nation passionate about physical exercise.

The war against obesity can only be won with a combination of educational as well as legislative weapons.

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