ABSTRACT

Physical education (PE), its policy and its pedagogy are in what some may regard as an enviable position currently. Amid claims that everyone, everywhere is enmeshed in an obesity epidemic, schools and subjects like PE and/or health education (HE) have been positioned as saviours, places where work can be done to stem the obesity tide (Evans, Rich, Davies and Allwood, 2008; Gard, 2004, 2008). In both the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ), the notion that there are too many fat children who become fat adults has inspired a proliferation of programmes focused predominantly on improving nutrition and addressing the presumed sedentary lifestyles of young people (Burrows, Petrie and Cosgriff, 2013; Evans, De Pian, Rich and Davies, 2011; Evans et al., 2008; Petrie, Penney and Fellows, 2014). PE has seemingly found its place in the sun. But has it?