scholarly journals Physical Activity Levels among Children Attending After-School Programs

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEWART G. TROST ◽  
RICHARD R. ROSENKRANZ ◽  
DAVID DZEWALTOWSKI
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 512-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Chandler ◽  
Keith Brazendale ◽  
Clemens Drenowatz ◽  
Justin B. Moore ◽  
Xuemei Sui ◽  
...  

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.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsti Riiser ◽  
Kåre Rønn Richardsen ◽  
Anders Lund Hage Haugen ◽  
Siv Lund ◽  
Knut Løndal

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.


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

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsti Riiser ◽  
Kåre Rønn Richardsen ◽  
Anders Lund Hage Haugen ◽  
Siv Lund ◽  
Knut Løndal

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-333
Author(s):  
Jae Young Yang

University students in the international regions show reduced physical activity levels compared to previous generations. Lack of physical activity in college population is a growing problem of modern society because over half of the population is faced with serious health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. An emphasis point of physical activity research is to get detailed information of motivational process for engaging in physical activity. This study tested a serial path model that the relationship between autonomous motivation and after school physical activity was proposed to be mediated by behavioral intention and the existence of action planning. A total of 203 students participating in physical education classes of two universities located at a metropolitan city in South Korea were selected. The participants completed four well-validated questionnaires at the end of the classes in one semester. The results of data analyzed using a structural equation modeling revealed that after school physical activity could be positively advanced by the sequential mediation effects of behavioral intention and action planning if students were internalized with autonomous motivation in the physical education classes. The findings highlighted that the action planning played as an effective strategy in leading to engagement in after school physical activity and provided useful information for university physical educators to increase physical activity levels of university students during out of school hours.


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