“He comes out of school and he is bouncing off the walls,” she said.

Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, has proposed injecting language into the federal budget creating incentives for schools to report how much physical activity students are getting. He also asked the Government Accountability Office to look into the issue and, in February, it released a survey showing that while schools appeared more aware of the benefits of physical education, “they have reduced the amount of time spent” on such classes.

Principals most frequently blame budget cuts, and in New York, they also cite pressures to devote resources to test preparation, and what one union leader called a lack of interest from the department headquarters.

“There does not appear to be a promotion, or support, from the Department of Education for daily physical education in many of our high schools,” said Jeff Engel, a vice principal at Long Island City High School, in Queens, who is a member of the executive board of the principals’ union. He said that his own school provided daily physical education, but that many did not. “We have a huge obesity epidemic in the city, yet we see many of our high schools going to nondaily physical education.”

According to the city comptroller’s audit, none of the 31 elementary schools that auditors visited were holding physical education classes as frequently as required: every day for kindergarten through third grade and three times a week for grades four through six, for a minimum of 120 minutes weekly; and at least 90 minutes a week for grades seven and eight. In grades 7 through 12, state guidelines call for physical education three times a week in one semester and twice a week in another.

Kathleen Grimm, New York City’s deputy schools chancellor for operations, said the Bloomberg administration required adequate physical education in schools, but acknowledged it had work to do. Since principals face challenges in providing space and time for those classes, she said, the administration hoped to put a plan in place by summer’s end to provide them “better support” across all areas of education, including physical education.

The department has not filed a physical education plan with the state since 1982, though state officials recommend a new one every seven years. A spokeswoman for the city schools says one will be presented in September.