Dear Editor:
Third-graders beating seniors in fitness test (August 8, 2008) is no surprise.
The increase in sedentary recreation and decreases in school recess and physical education over the past couple decades makes it a foregone conclusion. The real news is that less than a third of third-graders achieved the standards to be considered physically healthy.
Fitnessgram standards are derived from research related to the minimal level of fitness necessary to avoid future chronic diseases and lifestyle impediments. If you ask the 90 percent of seniors who failed the test, they feel great ... now. But they are part of a generation predicted to have a shorter lifespan than their parents’ generation. Fitnessgram has been around for over 20 years.
It is a well-validated, nationally standardized test. Two to three years more data is hardly necessary. Sen. Jane Nelson has alerted the state there is a problem, and the local testing confirms it. The time to act is now.
— Dr. Steve Stork, Roanoke