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Top Fitness Education Programs in the United States

If you have a love for being active and physically fit, a career in physical education may be right up your alley.

Academic institutions across the United States - from elementary schools to colleges - include physical education programs in their curriculum in order to promote fitness, health, and well-being. If this is something that is important to you, being a physical education instructor may be your calling.

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Photo Courtesy of US Army
Here is a look at some of the most popular courses of study in the field of education.

Health and Exercise Science
In this program, you will concentrate on biological, physiological, medical, and behavioral sciences and how they apply to human health. You will learn the fundamentals in the classroom setting, but you will also apply what you learn in the classroom to real life in a gym setting, utilizing the skills you will learn.
Areas of focus in this program of study include nutritional trends and behaviors and how their affect on the body, prevention of childhood obesity, health disparities, management of chronic disease, and functional movement assessments, among other topics.

General Physical Education
This program focuses on providing knowledge and experience that relate to various aspects of physical fitness and the human body. In this program, you will learn about the nature of human movement and what types of activities promote optimal physical fitness. You will also learn the skills necessary to teach others the importance of physical fitness and lead them in participating in appropriate physical activities.

You will participate in a range of learning environments that aim to teach the different facets of general physical education, including lectures, labs that examine the effect of physical activities, and classes that engage the use of such activities.

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Photo Courtesy of US Navy

Kinesiology
Kinesiology refers to the study of human movement. In this program, you will not only study of different human movements, but you will also learn about the impact of these movements on the health and well-being of individuals.

This course of study focuses on various sciences, including anatomy, biomechanics, physiology, and neuroscience. You will discover how different types of movements impact the body in different ways and which movements provide optimal physical fitness.

The main goal of all of these programs is to provide those interested in working in the field of physical education with the skills, experience, and knowledge they need in order to successfully promote the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and staying physically fit.

There are several universities and colleges through the country that offer these degree programs, including Alabama State, Swathmore, the University of Oklahoma, and Brigham Young, just to name a few.

If you are interested in enrolling in one of these programs, but require financial assistance in order to do so, there are several online learning financial aid programs that can provide you with the assistance you require in order to turn your dream of having a career in physical education into a reality.

Bridget Galbreath is a freelance writer who specializes in several topics, including continuing education.

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