Schools are getting a head start on healthy habits with physical activity and nutritional awareness

Schools are jumping at the opportunity to make physical activity and nutritional awareness an integral part of the community.

Year 7 pupils enjoy gymnastics during a PE class at Brighton College Abu Dhabi.  Pawan Singh / The National
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In recent years, we have begun to spend large chunks of our time closely monitoring our physical activity. We invest in pricey fitness bands to track everything from steps taken to calories burnt, we sign up for various – sometimes insane – classes at our local gyms, we even participate in daunting competitions such as the Desert Warrior Challenge or Dubai Marathon. And while studies continue to show that sitting for extended periods of time and a general lack of activity pose a threat to our health as adults, what is being done to prevent our children from falling into that same trap of inactivity? Though the onus falls first and foremost on parents, educators in the UAE have started to incorporate the importance of exercise into school curriculums.

At the British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi (BSAK), Mike Edgar, head of Year 7, says that these discussions begin as early as nursery level. “Incorporating exercise into our students’ daily lives is a topic that is consistently consolidated throughout each age group through the school,” he says. It’s important that students see exercise as an enjoyable habit, says Edgar, rather than an “onerous” task.

At Brighton College Abu Dhabi, the ethos that schools promote lifelong learning is regularly applied to health, fitness and exercise, according to Simon Crane, deputy head, co-curricular. “Schools play a central role in every child’s life,” he says. “They create a sense of stability and provide opportunity for exercise and sport.”

Many schools, including BSAK and Brighton College, are working with Zayed Sports City as a way of engaging their students in regular activity.

“We have some schools who make weekly bookings for netball, rugby, football, bowling and ice skating,” says Barry Bremner, Zayed Sports City’s general manager. “These activities are included as part of the school curriculum and additional after-school activities.”

While a long list of options is already available for students, there are also plans for additional activities. Bremner says that ZSC intends to add a new paintball park and there are talks of ZSC teaming up with a sporting organisation to host a sport-based world record attempt that will involve thousands of children.

Though the ZCS facilities have been available to schools since its inception in 1980, Bremner says the real steps to engage younger individuals came about in 2009 – a result of a change in management. “Educating students at a young age in the physical, social and mental benefits of participating in a range of sports is key to what we offer,” he says.

The facility looks to support children of all abilities and as young as age 4 in the hope of making exercise a “lifelong habit”.

It’s little surprise that schools have begun to place serious focus on the importance of exercise, given the numerous studies showing the positive effect it has on a student’s academic performance. In a 2013 study, the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that while regular exercise reduces the “feelings of depression and anxiety and promotes psychological well-being”, it may also help improve a student’s academic performance, which includes academic achievement, better behaviour in the classroom and overall concentration.

Yet, even with these findings, schools still come up against obstacles when trying to teach the importance of healthy living. Edgar places part of the blame on modern lifestyles, pointing specifically to video games and social media as one of the main causes of inactivity among students. Nutrition is also, unsurprisingly, an obstacle.

Crane admits that while children are keen to learn more about healthy living, when it comes to diet, the influences from parents – and even friends – are the “biggest hurdle”. Parents allowing their children too much junk food as part of their normal diet, according to Edgar, certainly increases the problem. “The convenience of this diet choice is hard to break.”

He says the increase in availability of fast food in the UAE makes it even more difficult for parents to control what their children eat. To counteract this, schools have started to step in, offering healthier options at lunch and snack time and, in some cases, banning certain food items altogether.

“Our school policy bans fast-food deliveries to the school and a recent review of our food outlets requested more healthy options, like fresh fruit,” says Edgar.

Brighton College also offers students a “balanced, wholesome food with an age-­appropriate amount of energy, proteins, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals,” says Crane.

In addition to incorporating healthier food options and policies and partnering with facilities such as ZSC, schools are also offering a number of clubs such as gymnastics, contemporary dance and netball, where the focus is on being active and students being able to participate in them during the school day.

At Brighton College, students have access to more than 100 physical activities that encompass sport, fitness and general health. “All children have access to the swimming pool, fitness suite, pitch, sports hall and dance studio with two sessions of PE per week,” says Crane.

At BSAK, the number of lessons per week depends on the age group. “In primary [school], our students have two PE lessons per week plus one swimming lesson, while in secondary, students have three PE lessons per week,” says Edgar.

An after-school activity programme is also available to BSAK students, including football, rugby, swimming and cricket. “All these clubs are run at a competitive level as well as at participation level,” he says. “Clubs are offered for two hours each day after school and begin for students when they are in Year 3 [7 years old].”

The importance of nutrition has also been incorporated into the curriculum in many schools, and in the case of BSAK, it starts from day one.

“Nutrition is part of the curriculum from nursery age through to Year 6,” says Edgar. For secondary students, nutrition is added to the PE curriculum, and Years 7 to 9 attend food-technology lessons once a week.

At Brighton College, as is the case in many British schools, students are offered PSHE (physical, social and health economics), where pupils acquire the skills and understanding needed to manage life outside of school – including how to lead a healthy life. In addition to that, Crane adds, the school will host six well-being days “dedicated to improving the general well-being” of pupils and staff.

Changes are noticeable all around. The increase in publicity of diabetes in the UAE, according to Edgar, has improved awareness of the need for healthy living. “Abu Dhabi Municipality is also playing a vital role by adding parks, cycling tracks and jogging paths throughout the city,” he says.

Bremner admits there’s still work to be done, but remains positive that change is possible. “I believe that for a real shift in moving towards a healthier nation, a combined approach involving parents, schools, health care, sports bodies and government organisations [is needed].”