Physical Activity in After-School Programs: Comparison With Physical Activity Policies

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Beets ◽  
Rohan Shah ◽  
Robert Glenn Weaver ◽  
Jennifer Huberty ◽  
Aaron Beighle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Total Activity ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
Community Based ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Race Ethnicity

Background:After-school programs (ASPs) across the nation have been asked to increase the amount of activity children accumulate during such programs. Policies/standards that benchmark the amount of total activity (light-to-vigorous physical activity, LVPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) accumulated in an ASP have been developed. Little is known about the prevalence of children meeting these goals.Methods:Children (N = 812, 6 to 12 y old) attending 19 ASPs wore accelerometers for 4 days while attending an ASP. LVPA and MVPA were dichotomized according to existing ASP policies/standards. Data on whether a policy/standard was met were compared between gender, age, BMI, race/ethnicity, and ASP-type (faith-, school-, community-based) using mixed-model logistic-regression.Results:The prevalence of meeting an LVPA policy/standard ranged from 75.4% (National Afterschool Association [NAA], 20% of program time spent in LVPA) to 97.8% (NAA, 20% of time in attendance spent in LVPA), and meeting an MVPA policy/standard ranged from 0.3% (California, 60 min MVPA/d) to 26.9% (North Carolina, 20% of attendance spent in MVPA). Boys, younger children, nonwhites, and children attending faithor community-based ASPs were more likely to meet any policy/standard.Conclusion:Current practice in ASPs is sufficient to meet LVPA policies/standards but insufficient to meet MVPA policy/standards. Efforts must be directed toward identifying the most appropriate policy/standard and strategies to meet it.

scholarly journals Associations Between Home Environment and After-School Physical Activity and Sedentary Time Among 6th Grade Children

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Y. Lau ◽  
Daheia J. Barr-Anderson ◽  
Marsha Dowda ◽  
Melinda Forthofer ◽  
Ruth P. Saunders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Sedentary Time ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Total Physical Activity ◽  
After School ◽  
Time Availability

This study examined associations of various elements of the home environment with after-school physical activity and sedentary time in 671 6th-grade children (Mage = 11.49 ± 0.5 years). Children’s after-school total physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and sedentary time were measured by accelerometry. Parents completed surveys assessing elements of the home social and physical environment. Mixed-model regression analyses were used to examine the associations between each element of the home environment and children’s after-school physical activity and sedentary time. Availability of home physical activity resources was associated positively with after-school total physical activity and negatively with after-school sedentary time in boys. Parental support was associated positively with after-school total physical activity and MVPA and negatively with after-school sedentary time in girls. The home physical environment was associated with boys’ after-school physical activity and sedentary time, whereas the home social environment was associated with girls’ after-school physical activity and sedentary time.

scholarly journals Active Play in ASP –A matched-pair cluster-randomized trial investigating the effectiveness of an intervention in After-school programs for supporting children’s physical activity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsti Riiser ◽  
Kåre Rønn Richardsen ◽  
Anders Lund Hage Haugen ◽  
Siv Lund ◽  
Knut Løndal
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Sedentary Behavior ◽  
First Graders ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
Matched Pair ◽  
After School ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Cluster Randomized ◽  
Sedentary Behavior Time

Abstract Background: Interventions directed at after school programs (ASPs) have the potential to support physical activity (PA) in young children. Research has indicated that interventions that emphasize competence building among the ASP staff can lead to increased PA among the children. The present study evaluates the effectiveness of the Active Play in ASP intervention—a program for ASP staff aimed at supporting physical activity among first graders in ASP. Methods: We used a matched-pair cluster randomized design and included 456 first graders from 14 schools in Norway. From these, 7 ASPs received the intervention (N = 229), while 7 acted as controls (N = 227). Measurements were taken at baseline, immediately post intervention (7 month follow-up) and after a year (19 month follow-up). The primary outcome was moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), which was estimated with predefined cut points of counts per minute (CPM) and expressed as minutes/hour. Secondary outcomes were vigorous and light intensity physical activity (VPA and LPA) and sedentary behavior. The analyses of intervention effects were based on between-group differences in outcome changes between the 3 measurement points and were conducted using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures using categorical time. In exploratory analyses, we investigated gender, baseline body mass index, and baseline CPM as potential effect modifiers. Results: No significant intervention effects was observed on MVPA (0.55 min/hour [99% CI -0.55:1.64]) or on the secondary outcomes, min/hour of LPA, VPA or sedentary behavior. Exploratory analyses indicated that among the 50% least physically active children at baseline, children in intervention ASPs reduced sedentary time from baseline to 19 months follow up by 1.67 min/hour (95% CI -3.12:-0.21) compared to the controls. Conclusions: Although the intervention did not significantly increase the mean MVPA among the children in the intervention ASPs compared to controls, it did seem to have a small effect by reducing sedentary behavior time among the least active children. An even stronger emphasis on how to identify less active children and support their activity may be needed in order to increase their PA and further reduce sedentary behavior time.

scholarly journals Where’d You Hear That? Examining the Importance of Individuals and Institutions in Providing Knowledge to At-Risk Adolescents about Their Local Community

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary V. Barnett ◽  
Paige E. Combee ◽  
Caroline Payne-Purvis
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Local Community ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
Community Based ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Community Issues ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
At Risk Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between individuals and institutions when providing information to at-risk youth. This research examined how community issues are translated to 302 at-risk youth participants in two community-based after school programs. It specifically sought to identify the individuals and institutions where adolescents self-reported that they receive information from about community issues and whether there were relationships between these two entities. At-risk youth self-reported learning about community issues from key individuals and institutional connections. Positive correlations were found between all of the individuals and institutions, which indicate youth receive information about their communities from multiple individuals and institution types. The results provide important implications for institutions and individuals to consider as they work with youth.

Physical Activity in After-School Programs: Comparison with Physical Activity Policies

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Michael W. Beets ◽  
Rohan Shah ◽  
Robert Glenn Weaver ◽  
Jennifer Huberty ◽  
Aaron Beighle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
School Programs

Structure of Physical Activity Opportunities Contribution to Children’s Physical Activity Levels in After-School Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 512-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Chandler ◽  
Keith Brazendale ◽  
Clemens Drenowatz ◽  
Justin B. Moore ◽  
Xuemei Sui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Free Play ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
Mixed Effects Models ◽  
After School ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Children’S Physical Activity

Background: The primary purpose of this study was to determine which physical activity (PA) opportunity elicits the most moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) in after-school programs. This study used a 3-group cross-over design in which participants were exposed to 3 variations of activity structures: free play, organized, or a mixture. Methods: PA was measured using ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers. All data were transformed into percentage of time spent sedentary or in MVPA. Repeated-measures mixed-effects models were used to examine differences in MVPA and sedentary among the 3 activity sessions. Participants included 197 unique children, aged 5–12 years, and were 53% male and 55% white. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed in the percentage of time boys spent in MVPA during free play and mixed compared with organized only sessions (35.8% and 34.8% vs 29.4%). No significant difference was observed in the percentage of time girls spent in MVPA during free play compared with organized or mixed (27.2% and 26.1% vs 26.1%). Both boys and girls experienced ∼10% less time sedentary during free play compared with the others. Conclusion: Offering free play during PA opportunities can help children attain as much if not more MVPA compared with only offering organized, adult-led games.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document