MOVEMENT, NUTRITION AND HEALTH: THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

Abstract

This article aims to discuss, based on a narrative literature review, the role of school Physical Education in building healthy habits during childhood and adolescence, linking body movement, nutritional education and health promotion. It assumes that the school environment, particularly the Physical Education curricular component, constitutes a privileged space for motor development, for engagement with diverse body practices, and for the formation of habits that extend throughout life. Studies published in journals indexed in SciELO, PubMed, Google Scholar and CAPES databases were analyzed, prioritizing works from the last five years and complemented by classic authors in Physical Education and motor development. Results show that regular physical activity, when combined with nutritional education and the coordinated involvement of family and school, significantly contributes to preventing childhood obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases, while producing measurable physical, psychological and social benefits. The Physical Education teacher emerges as a central agent of health promotion, whose interdisciplinary practice is articulated with public policies such as the School Health Program and the National Common Curricular Base. It is concluded that building healthy habits in childhood and adolescence depends on continuous, contextualized actions shared among school, family, teachers and intersectoral public policies, and cannot be reduced to isolated initiatives or exclusively individual responsibility.