Possibilities and pitfalls of a public health agenda for physical education

The 1996 Surgeon General’s Report (SGR), Physical Activity and Health, was one of the more significant U.S. federal documents to outline national priorities for health and physical activity. In this monograph Marlene Tappe and Charlene Burgeson and Stephen Cone remind us that Physical Activity and Health was the third in a series of Surgeon General reports focused on the health of the U.S. population over the last 40 years. The first was the 1960 SG report titled Tobacco and Health and the second, published in 1988, focused on nutrition and health. Of the three, the 1996 report has had most relevance to the physical education profession because it spoke directly to our primary concern, physical activity or human movement.