Physical Education and Healthy Lifestyles. Theoretical-Reflective Analysis
Abstract
Problems such as sedentary lifestyle, obesity, lack of energy, stress, anxiety, apathy, loneliness,
and lack of concentration are often observed in students. One possible response to this situation
is the implementation of physical and recreational activities. Physical education is increasingly
relevant for promoting healthy living conditions in a holistic manner—physical, mental, and
social—at all stages of human existence. This discipline proves to be an important and accessible
pedagogical tool for fostering physical, communicative, collaborative, psychosocial, and value-
building skills, from childhood to old age. The purpose of this article is to analyze, through a
documentary review, the impact of physical education on promoting healthy lifestyles in
students. A review of the published scientific literature was conducted, selecting articles from
academic databases such as Scopus, SciELO, and Redalyc that address the topic from an
educational perspective. The results show that physical education, when approached from a
holistic perspective, has a high potential to influence the adoption of healthy habits. However, it
faces challenges such as low institutional recognition, weak teacher training in health, and a lack
of coordination between different social sectors. It is concluded that strengthening the
pedagogical role of this discipline is key to advancing toward an education committed to the
well-being and comprehensive development of students.
Keywords: physical education, healthy lifestyles, integral education
Introducción
A menudo se observan problemas en los estudiantes como sedentarismo, obesidad, falta
de energía, estrés, ansiedad, apatía, soledad, falta de concentración. García Garro (2022), plantea
que la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) advierte que la inactividad física es un
problema de salud pública mundial, es un factor de riesgo que frecuentemente se relaciona con
aspectos de orden emocional, sobre todo en los adolescentes con sedentarismo, que abusan del
uso de dispositivos electrónicos y redes sociales, propiciando un aislamiento social. Una
respuesta posible a esta situación en la implementación de políticas y programas efectivos que
favorezcan las actividades físicas y recreacionales, considerando aspectos educativos, sociales,
psicológicos, ambientales.
En opinión de Prado y Albarrán (2023), la Educación Física aporta a cualquier individuo
salud física y mental. Físicamente ayuda a mantener, recuperar o mejorar la salud y la energía