On Thursday, Manitoba announced a two-year pilot health curriculum that would make in-person physical education classes mandatory for all students up until Grade 12.
The program will be rolled out gradually, with 110 hours of P.E. required for students in the 11th and 12th grades by the 2027-2028 school year. The province says it’s an initiative to keep youth healthy, but will those habits stick upon graduation?
A recent study out of the University of Michigan found a “cliff effect” in physical activity after structured opportunities like school teams or classes disappear.
A poll of parents with children aged 18 to 25 conducted by the university highlighted some of the reasons this age group doesn’t stay active. Fifty-seven per cent of parents said their child had a lack of interest in physical education, while 31 per cent believed that screen time and gaming played a major role.
“The high school years can really set up the young adult years,” says co-director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan, Sarah Clark.
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“For a lot of people, the opportunities you have in high school, whether it be on a school team or a travel team, a lot of those kind of evaporate for young adults.”
The poll found that young adults progressively got less active as they aged.
Clark welcomes Manitoba’s new P.E. initiative, and says the province can also focus on keeping people active beyond their high school years.
“Young adult is often the first time they’re confronted with having to do this themselves. In high school activities going on now can maybe include conversations about once you graduate, what are you going to do? What are your options? How can we allow you to continue to do that with the friends you already made?”
A 2024 study from The Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute found 64 per cent of girls between five and 17 reported playing sports over a six month period. That drops nearly 20 per cent for those aged 18 to 25.
Many moving away from an active lifestyle point to a lack of time, or not knowing where to participate after leaving organized programs in school.
YMCA of Winnipeg Adult Program Coordinator Javi Izaguirre works out at downtown facility.
Vasilios Bellos / Global News
At the YMCA of Winnipeg, they stress that there’s many options at their facilities and across the city, many of which aren’t overly competitive or intimidating.
“There’s always recreational groups and there’s tons here in Winnipeg. I came from a different country and I still found the sport I used to play back home,” says adult program coordinator Javi Izaguirre.
“You will find a community that’s interested in the same as you, it doesn’t necessarily always have to be very physical.”
Under the new Manitoba teaching guidelines, students will also learn about the mental health impacts of screen time, and the marketing tactics of vape companies.
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