The role and responsability of the significant adults in school-age youth physical activity

Recommendations suggest that school-age youth should participate daily in a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous PA, that is developmentally appropriate, enjoyable, and involves a variety of activities (Strong et al., 2005). In many European schools it is not possible for students to reach the minimum recommended quantity of PA through the physical education (PE) classes alone, and the development of extra-school programmes (mainly sport activities) is very common. To sustain youngsters’ participation in PA, the “alliance” of different actors is required: parents, physical education teachers and sport coaches are all called to guarantee positive and stimulating conditions to motivate children and adolescents to be physically active.