Alberta’s new physical education curriculum risks promoting disordered eating among students

By Shelly Russell-Mayhew, Professor and Registered Psychologist, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
Elizabeth Tingle, Coordinator for the Body Image Research Lab; Lecturer at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
Kheana Barbeau, Postdoctoral Researcher, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

In June 2026, the Alberta government released an updated draft of its Grades 7 to 9 Physical Education and Wellness curriculum, intended for optional classroom piloting during the 2026–27 school year and mandatory implementation in September 2027.

The way food, bodies and physical activity are discussed in the new curriculum has the potential to prime, endorse or worsen disordered eating and compulsive exercise among youth.

Adolescence is a time when youth become more preoccupied…

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