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How We Collected the Data
The North American Division Office of Education and La Sierra University partnered on this study.
Participants in the study were students in grades five through eleven in NAD Adventist schools.
Teachers administered the Presidential Youth Fitness Program’s five-element fitness test as a part of their physical education classes and entered the results on WELNET.
“True education... is the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers.”
Ellen G. White,
Eduction, p. 13
What We Believe
WE BELIEVE that in addition to its importance in enabling a happy and productive life, good health is a crucial part of excellent education and that it is important to maintain the proper balance of a our schools’ physical, spiritual, and mental aspects. This study was developed to assess our students’ health status and provide a basis for maintaining or improving that balance.
The “Mind Body Spirit Triad” of Research Studies Focusing on students in the Adventist Education system:
1. ValueGenesis studies: 1990, 2000, 2010
2. CognitiveGenesis: 2008-2012
3. PhysicalGenesis: 2015-2018
“Strength comes by exercise. Activity is the very condition of life.”
Ellen G. White,
Steps to Christ, p. 80
Download the Study Overview
Why We Wanted to Study Student Health
Because the benefits of a long healthy life enjoyed by previous generations of the members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, as reflected in the ongoing Adventist Health Study II, may not be experienced by the school age children of the church today.
OUR CURRENT SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE does not spare even those that are young and mobile. Children and students in North America are more likely to be obese and less fit today than in previous generations. Our environment, peer pressure, and even school policies have created an imbalance between the fundamental needs for a healthy
development of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual life of today’s students. The health beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church that have their foundation in creation and restoration call for a renewed emphasis on fitness and health to restore balance and overall wellness in the lives of our students, staff and teachers.
The PhysicalGenesis Study
Although the 4-year PhysicalGenesis study finished in May 2018, this website continues to be useful as a resource for teachers in SDA schools who would like to use WELNET as their physical fitness testing resource in their own classes.
Key information provided in this website includes:
- proper protocols for conducting fitness tests
- information for how to use WELNET to enter students’ fitness scores, run reports, etc.
- other helpful information
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