Children's physical activity levels during school recess: a quasi-experimental intervention study

Outdoor recreational spaces have the potential to increase physical activity. This study used a quasi-experimental evaluation design to determine how a playground renovation impacts usage and physical activity of children and whether the visitations correlate with children’s physical activity levels and parental impressions of the playground. Observational data and intercept interviews were collected simultaneously on park use and park-based activity among playground visitors at pre- and postrenovation at an intervention and a comparison park during three 2-hour periods each day over two weeks. No detectable difference in use between parks was observed at followup. In the intervention park, attendance increased among boys, but decreased among girls although this (nonsignificant) decline was less marked than in the comparison park. Following renovation, there was no detectable difference between parks in the number of children engaged in MVPA (interaction between park and time:P=0.73). At the intervention park, there was a significant decline in girls engaging in MVPA at followup (P=0.04). Usage was correlated with parental/carer perceptions of playground features but not with physical activity levels. Renovations have limited the potential to increase physical activity until factors influencing usage and physical activity behavior are better understood.

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The Intricacies of Children’s Physical Activity

Journal of Human Kinetics ◽

10.1515/hukin-2015-0082 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 269-275 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Timothy A Brusseau

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Physical Education ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Physical Activity Patterns ◽

Change Behavior ◽

Before And After ◽

School Recess ◽

Physical Activity Programming ◽

Children’S Physical Activity

AbstractUnderstanding the physical activity patterns of youth is an essential step in preparing programming and interventions needed to change behavior. To date, little is known about the intricacies of youth physical activity across various physical activity segments (i.e. in school, out of school, recess, classroom physical activity, physical education, weekends, etc.). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the physical activity patterns of elementary school children across various segments and during two seasons. A total of 287 fourth and fifth graders from the Southwest US wore the Yamax Digiwalker SW-200 pedometer for 7 consecutive days during the Fall and Spring seasons. Children were prompted to record their step counts when arriving and leaving school, before and after physical education and recess, as well as on the weekends. Means and standard deviations were calculated and ANOVAs and t tests were utilized to examine difference by sex, season, and segment. Youth were more active outside of school and on weekdays (p<0.05). Boys were generally more active than girls and all youth were more active during the milder Spring season. There is a clear need for Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programming and weekend physical activity opportunities. Furthermore, greater emphasis is needed on PE and across other activity segments for girls to increase their physical activity levels.

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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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Physical Activity in Preschool Children With the Transition to Outdoors

Journal of Physical Activity and Health ◽

10.1123/jpah.10.2.170 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 170-175 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Russell R. Pate ◽

Marsha Dowda ◽

William H. Brown ◽

Jonathan Mitchell ◽

Cheryl Addy

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Time Course ◽

Outdoor Play ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Physically Active ◽

Minute Period ◽

Physical Activity Levels ◽

Trained Observers ◽

Children’S Physical Activity ◽

Observation Period

Background:It is known that children are more physically active outdoors than indoors. However, few previous studies have observed the time course for physical activity as young children transition from indoor to outdoor activities.Methods:Participants were 3- to 5-year-old children enrolled in the Children’s Activity and Movement in Preschool Study (CHAMPS). Trained observers used the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool Version (OSRAC-P) to record children’s physical activity levels over 20 minutes in outdoor settings. The 20-minute outdoor observational period began immediately following the transition from indoors to outdoors.Results:Children’s activity levels were moderately high at the time of transition and declined over the 20-minute observation period. Different patterns, however, were observed for boys and girls. Overall, boys were more active than girls. Boys’ activity levels declined in a linear fashion over the 20-minute period, while girls’ activity levels increased slightly, decreased, and then increased slightly again.Conclusions:These data indicate that physical activity levels decline with increased duration of outdoor play. The frequency and duration of outdoor play should be investigated for the purpose of optimizing physical activity levels.

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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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