Twelve-Month Effects of a Playground Intervention on Children’s Morning and Lunchtime Recess Physical Activity Levels

Background:Recess is an opportunity for children to engage in daily physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the 12-month effects of a playground intervention on children’s moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) during morning and lunchtime recess.Methods:Four hundred and seventy children (232 boys, 238 girls) from 26 elementary schools participated in the study. Fifteen schools redesigned the playground environment using playground markings and physical structures. Eleven schools served as socioeconomic matched controls. Physical activity levels were quantified using heart rate and accelerometry at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months post-intervention. A 3-level (time, pupil, and school) multilevel analysis was used to determine the effects of the intervention across time on MVPA and VPA.Results:Positive yet nonsignificant intervention effects were found for MVPA and VPA during morning and lunchtime recess. Intervention children were more active during recess than control children. Interactions revealed that the intervention effect was stronger at 6 months than 12 months post-intervention.Conclusions:A playground markings and physical structures intervention had a positive effect on intervention children’s morning and lunchtime MVPA and VPA when assessed using heart rate and accelerometry, but this effect is strongest 6-months post-intervention and decreased between 6 months and 12 months.

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Why are children different in their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels? A multilevel analysis

Jornal de Pediatria ◽

10.1016/j.jped.2018.10.013 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 96 (2) ◽

pp. 225-232

Author(s):

Sara Pereira ◽

Ana Reyes ◽

Marcos A. Moura-Dos-Santos ◽

Carla Santos ◽

Thayse N. Gomes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Multilevel Analysis ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Physical Activity Levels

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Relationships between pulse wave velocity and heart rate variability in healthy men with a range of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels

European Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1007/s00421-006-0303-9 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 98 (5) ◽

pp. 516-523 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

G. M. Perkins ◽

A. Owen ◽

I. L. Swaine ◽

J. D. Wiles

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Pulse Wave Velocity ◽

Wave Velocity ◽

Pulse Wave ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Healthy Men ◽

Physical Activity Levels

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Why are children different in their moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity levels? A multilevel analysis

Jornal de Pediatria (Versão em Português) ◽

10.1016/j.jpedp.2018.09.003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 96 (2) ◽

pp. 225-232

Author(s):

Sara Pereira ◽

Ana Reyes ◽

Marcos A. Moura‐Dos‐Santos ◽

Carla Santos ◽

Thayse N. Gomes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Multilevel Analysis ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Physical Activity Levels

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Physical activity levels during adventure-physical education lessons

European Physical Education Review ◽

10.1177/1356336x12440365 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 245-257 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jeffrey Gehris ◽

Elizabeth Myers ◽

Robert Whitaker

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Public Schools ◽

Physical Education ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Physical Development ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Instruction Time ◽

Physical Activity Levels ◽

The Mean

Adventure-physical education has been proposed to promote adolescents’ physical development, but little is known about physical activity levels during such lessons. Using the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time, we observed students’ (ages 11–14 years) physical activity levels in co-educational classes during 43 adventure-physical education lessons at seven public schools. The mean percentage (±SD) of time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was 28.3% (±16.3%). The greatest percentage of lesson time was spent in two activities—high elements (24.1% ± 36.5%) and initiatives (22.3% ± 32.4%). When data were aggregated across all lessons, 40.0% of the time in high elements and 13.7% of the time in initiatives was spent in MVPA. Of all MVPA time, 31.5% occurred in high elements and another 12.6% in initiatives. Compared with traditional physical education lessons, less time is spent in MVPA during adventure lessons. Efforts to increase MVPA should target high elements and initiative activities.

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Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Time among Children and Adolescents in Morocco: A Cross-Sectional Study

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2018/8949757 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Issad Baddou ◽

Asmaa El Hamdouchi ◽

Imane El Harchaoui ◽

Kaoutar Benjeddou ◽

Naima Saeid ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Sedentary Time ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Physical Activity Guideline ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Physical Activity Levels ◽

Objectively Measured

Background. Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescent plays an important role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular health diseases, diabetes, and obesity in adulthood. However, little is known about physical activity levels (PA) and sedentary time among children and adolescents in Morocco. Objective. To examine gender, type of day, and age grade differences in objectively measured sedentary time, physical activity levels, and physical activity guideline attainment among children and adolescents in Morocco. Method. 172 children/adolescents (mean age = 10.92 ± 1.55 years, 49.4% are boys) were recruited for this study and wore a tri-axial accelerometer (GT3X+) for 7 consecutive days. Time spent in sedentary, PA levels, and daily steps were measured and compared according to gender, age grade, and the type of day (weekdays/weekends). Results. In weekdays children/adolescents spent more time in sedentary than weekends (p < 0.001). Boys were eight times more likely to meet the recommendation for at least 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day than girls (OR: 8.569; 95% [CI]: 4.23–17.32), p < 0.001. Conclusion. These findings highlight the need for effective and sustainable strategies and programs aiming to promote physical activity and to reduce sedentary behavior among children and adolescents in Morocco.

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Objectively assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels among primary school children in Norway: The Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP)

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494818771207 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (21_suppl) ◽

pp. 38-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Wei Hai Deng ◽

Per Morten Fredriksen

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Linear Regression ◽

Primary School ◽

School Children ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Age Groups ◽

Participation Rate ◽

Primary School Children ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Physical Activity Levels

Aims: The objective was to investigate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels (MVPA) of primary school children at baseline of the Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP), Norway. Methods: Data on 2123 children aged 6–12 years were included for analysis (75% participation rate). Average minutes per day in MVPA was objectively measured using accelerometry based on seven-day averages. The sample was analysed for age-, sex-, socioeconomic-, and season-related patterns. A linear regression investigated the moderating effect of these factors as well as body mass index and waist circumference. Results: Some 86.5% of the sample had at least 60 min/day MVPA, averaging 90.7 min/day. The main differences in daily averages were between age groups 6½–9 and 10–12 ( p < .05). Boys (95.8 min/day, 95% CI: 94.1–97.5) were more active than girls (85.6 min/day, 95% CI: 83.9–87.2) in all age groups ( p < .0001). MVPA was lower by 3.5 min ( p < .0001) per additional year of age in the linear regression (R2 = 0.176) and was reduced by 20 min less per day in MVPA in the winter months compared with the summer months ( p < .0001). Conclusions: Physical activity levels are already in decline from 6–7 years old and are likely to continue to decline into adolescence. Interventions must therefore focus on primary school children.

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Impact of parents’ physical activity on preschool children’s physical activity: a cross-sectional study

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.4405 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e4405 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Chang Xu ◽

Minghui Quan ◽

Hanbin Zhang ◽

Chenglin Zhou ◽

PeiJie Chen

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Maternal Influence ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Physical Activity Levels ◽

Paternal Influence ◽

Children’S Physical Activity

Purpose This study examined the associations of physical activity levels between parents and their pre-school children based on gender and weekday/weekend. Method A total of 247 parent-preschool child triads from Shanghai, China were analyzed. The children had a mean age of 57.5 ± 5.2 months. Both sedentary behavior and physical activity were measured in all participants using an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer over seven consecutive days from Monday through the following Sunday. A multivariate regression model was derived to identify significant relationships between parental and child physical activity according to gender and weekday/weekend. Results There was a significant correlation between mothers’ and girls’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and total physical activity (TPA) on weekdays. Fathers’ MPVA levels correlated significantly with those of boys and girls, with paternal influence appearing to be stronger than maternal influence. However, there was not a significant correlation between fathers’ and children’s TPA. TPA levels of both mothers and fathers correlated with those of girls, but not with those of boys. Parental sedentary levels on the weekend correlated significantly with girls’ levels, but not with boys’ levels. Children’s physical activity levels on weekends were influenced more by fathers’ activity levels than by mothers’, while the opposite was observed on weekdays. Conclusion Sedentary behavior and physical activity levels of parents can strongly influence those of their preschool children, with maternal influence stronger during the weekdays and paternal influence stronger on the weekends. Parents’ activity levels influence girls’ levels more strongly than they influence boys’ levels.

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Application and Validation of Activity Monitors’ Epoch Lengths and Placement Sites for Physical Activity Assessment in Exergaming

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm7090268 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (9) ◽

pp. 268 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Jungyun Hwang ◽

Austin Fernandez ◽

Amy Lu

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Intraclass Correlation ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Activity Monitors ◽

Epoch Length ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Physical Activity Levels ◽

Rate Sensor

We assessed the agreement of two ActiGraph activity monitors (wGT3X vs. GT9X) placed at the hip and the wrist and determined an appropriate epoch length for physical activity levels in an exergaming setting. Forty-seven young adults played a 30-min exergame while wearing wGT3X and GT9X on both hip and wrist placement sites and a heart rate sensor below the chest. Intraclass correlation coefficient indicated that intermonitor agreement in steps and activity counts was excellent on the hip and good on the wrist. Bland-Altman plots indicated good intermonitor agreement in the steps and activity counts on both placement sites but a significant intermonitor difference was detected in steps on the wrist. Time spent in sedentary and physical activity intensity levels varied across six epoch lengths and depended on the placement sites, whereas time spent from a 1-s epoch of the hip-worn monitors most accurately matched the relative exercise intensity by heart rate. Hip placement site was associated with better step-counting accuracy for both activity monitors and more valid estimation of physical activity levels. A 1-s epoch was the most appropriate epoch length to detect short bursts of intense physical activity and may be the best choice for data processing and analysis in exergaming studies examining intermittent physical activities.

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Physical activity during school recess: A missed opportunity to be active?

Health Education Journal ◽

10.1177/0017896919859044 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 78 (8) ◽

pp. 988-999

Author(s):

Pablo Tercedor ◽

Víctor Segura-Jiménez ◽

Manuel Ávila García ◽

Francisco Javier Huertas-Delgado

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Weight Status ◽

Sedentary Time ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Physical Activity Levels ◽

Physical Activity Recommendations ◽

School Recess ◽

Activity Recommendations

Objective:The goals of this study were to (1) describe physical activity levels during school recess in 8-year-old children, (2) analyse the percentage of children who achieved physical activity recommendation at recess, and (3) examine if recess physical activity levels varied by gender, weight status, and parental educational level.Methods:In all, 291 children (mean age ± SD = 8.3 ± 0.3 years, 156 boys) from 7 schools of Granada (Spain) were recruited by convenience. To analyse sedentary time and physical activity levels during recess, children wore a tri-axial accelerometer attached to the wrist over five consecutive school days.Results:Sedentary time (29.6% vs 40%) and light physical activity (33.2% vs 35.5%) were lower in boys than in girls (all p < .001). Conversely, moderate physical activity (26.7% vs 20%), vigorous physical activity (10.5% vs 4.4%) and moderate-vigorous physical activity (37.2% vs 24.4%) were higher in boys than in girls (all p < .001). Only 12% of the children accomplished the moderate-vigorous physical activity recommendations during recess (21.2% boys vs 1.5% girls). Lower body mass index values were associated with higher vigorous physical activity intensity.Conclusions:Levels of moderate-vigorous physical activity during school recess are very low in children, being lower in girls than in boys, a very low percentage of children achieve moderate-vigorous physical activity recommendations during school recess, and girls and overweight/obese children show lower values in moderate-vigorous and vigorous physical activity.

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