Schools across India require a better system to impart physical education (PE) as a study which found that one in every three children have low Body Mass Indexes (BMIs).

It found that a similar number of children cannot sprint for their age and lack the required upper body strength.

“The school-going child has a developing body and it requires proper diet and a good amount of time and space to play,” says Saumil Majmudar, CEO and Co-founder of EduSports.

The organisation has conducted the study across 326 schools in 86 cities, taking into account over 1.5 lakh children from 26 different states.

The 7th Annual School Health and Fitness Study 2016 found that about 34-39 per cent students have low BMIs and one in four children don’t have desired flexibility that is adequate for their age.

He added that schools have the adequate resources and systems, but they aren’t able to find a way to implement the same.

In the study, by comparing data between schools varying in the number of times physical education classes take place in a week, the study observed that students in schools with more than three PE sessions a week had better BMI than others.

The study observed that there was not much variation in the fitness levels when comparing schools in metropolitan cities and non-metropolitan towns.

According to the study, schools with a sustainable, structured sports and physical education sessions have students with better BMIs.

Source: The Indian Express