Break a Sweat, Change Your Life: The Urgent Need for Physical Education in Schools

Today’s high-pressure childhoods cry out for every cognitive and emotional advantage that fitness can provide, but children are staring at screens, sitting on couches, and staying inside.
William E. Simon Jr. examines the greatest threat to our children’s health in America today: the deadly duo of obesity and inactivity. As a result of these perils, children today may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
With the help of world-renowned medical experts, the author investigates the causes and effects of this health crisis and looks at recent research revealing the extraordinary benefits that physical activity confers on a child’s mind, body, and spirit.
If we are to give children the healthy start in life they deserve, the author contends, schools—as the place where almost all children spend most of their waking hours—must play a greater role in teaching physical literacy and providing fitness resources.
Learn why physical education is so important to children’s well-being and how you can fight the growing epidemic of inactivity in Break a Sweat, Change Your Life.

Advance Praise for

Break a Sweat, Change Your Life

[T]he current levels of obesity and inactivity in our children have become the most fearful enemies to their health. … Break a Sweat, Change Your Life thoughtfully and constructively addresses the health crisis today’s children are facing, calling on schools to implement adequate physical education programs at all grade levels in order to give our youth a strong start in life.

From the foreword by Kenneth H. Cooper, MD, MPH, “the Father of Aerobics”

Break a Sweat, Change Your Life takes a much-needed look at the deplorable lack of physical education in our nation’s schools, identifying the science behind the need for robust PE programs, as well as ways to improve the situation. Bill Simon has spent decades attempting to revitalize physical education in schools, and everyone who cares about children should read his book.

John J. Ratey, MD,

 Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

 One of the best things we can do for our children is to make exercise a routine part of their lives. This is a highly readable, informative book that explains the huge physical, cognitive, and mental health benefits our children gain when we help them to stay active.

Wendy A. Suzuki, PhD,

Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University and author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life

A significant amount of scientific research has demonstrated that brains, minds, and bodies of the young all benefit from exercise. Outstanding physical education programs will give middle school and high school students the skills, knowledge, and motivation to stay fit over their lifetimes. Bill Simon makes an excellent case that physical education should be valued as highly as academic studies in our schools.

Ming Guo, MD, PhD,

Professor in Neurology and Pharmacology at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

Physical education means more than exercise. It means providing children with the knowledge and understanding they need to lead healthy lives through adequate exposure to the only subject in school that nurtures the body, mind, and spirit of students. Read this book, and learn what we all need to know to help grow sound minds and sound bodies for the sake of our country’s future.

 John Naber, 1976 Olympic champion swimmer, broadcaster, author, and speaker.

William E. Simon Jr. is chair of UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind, a nonprofit organization he founded in 1998 to combat childhood obesity by placing fitness equipment in schools. He has been active on the boards of a number of charitable organizations concerned with childrens health and well-being. He is also a partner in Massey Quick Simon, an independent wealth management firm, and an adjunct professor in UCLAs law school and economics department. A former Republican gubernatorial nominee in California, he lives with his wife, Cindy, in Los Angeles. They have four children.