scholarly journals Impacts of active school design on school-time sedentary behavior and physical activity: A pilot natural experiment

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. e0189236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeri Brittin ◽  
Leah Frerichs ◽  
John R. Sirard ◽  
Nancy M. Wells ◽  
Beth M. Myers ◽  
...  
2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Glenn Weaver ◽  
Michael W. Beets ◽  
Collin Webster ◽  
Jennifer Huberty

Background:Frontline-staff are critical to achieving policies related to child physical activity and nutrition (PAaN) in out-of-school-time programs (OSTP). Recent policies call upon staff to demonstrate behaviors related to PAaN. Currently, no instrument exists to measure these behaviors. This study fills the gap between policy mandates and staff behaviors by describing the development of the System for Observing Staff Promotion of Activity and Nutrition (SOSPAN) in OSTP.Methods:SOSPAN items were aligned with existing OSTP policies. Reliability and validity data of SOSPAN were collected across 8 OSTP: 4 summer day camps and 4 afterschool programs. Validity of SOSPAN staff behaviors/management of PA was established using the percent of children active measured concurrently via direct observation.Results:A total of 6437 scans were performed. Interrater percent agreement ranged from 74%–99% across PAaN behaviors. Children’s activity was associated with staff facilitative behaviors/management, such as playing with the children and providing 2 or more activities for children to choose, while prohibitive behaviors/management, such as waiting in line were related to increased sedentary behavior. Staff nutrition behaviors were observed in less than 0.6% of scans.Conclusion:SOSPAN is a reliable and valid tool to assess staff behaviors/management of PAaN in OSTPs.


Author(s):  
Tetsuhiro Kidokoro ◽  
Yasuo Shimizu ◽  
Kanako Edamoto ◽  
Michael Annear

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of height-adjustable standing desks on time-series variation in sedentary behavior (SB) among primary school children. Thirty-eight children aged 11–12 years (22 boys and 16 girls) from two classes at a primary school in Nagano, Japan, participated in this study. One class was allocated as the intervention group and provided with individual standing desks for 6 months, and the other was allocated as the control group. Time spent in SB, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) was measured using accelerometers (ActiGraph) at baseline and follow-up. Time spent in SB was significantly lower by 18.3 min/day on average in the intervention class at follow-up (interaction effects: F(1, 36) = 4.95, p = 0.035, η2 = 0.082). This was accompanied by a significant increase in time spent in MVPA (+19.9 min/day on average). Our time-series analysis showed significant decreases in SB during school time, while no change in SB was found during non-school time. This result indicates that the use of standing desks promotes an overall reduction in SB with no compensatory increase during non-school time.


Author(s):  
Wen-Yi Wang ◽  
Yu-Ling Hsieh ◽  
Ming-Chun Hsueh ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Yung Liao

Levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior among adolescents seem to vary within different settings, but few Asian studies have compared physical activity and sedentary activity patterns in adolescents across weekdays/weekends and during-school time/after-school time. This study aimed to provide objectively measured data describing intensity-specific physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns in Taiwanese adolescents. The results were sorted by gender and divided between weekdays/weekends and during-school time/after-school time. A total of 470 Taiwanese students (49.6% boys, ages 12–15 y) were recruited and fitted with GT3X+ accelerometers for seven days. Intensity-specific physical activity, total sedentary time, and sedentary bouts (number and duration ≥30 min) were measured. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine the significant differences in physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns between the genders on weekdays/weekends and during school/after-school time. The results show that the adolescents’ overall activity levels were below recommended thresholds, with girls engaging in significantly less moderate to vigorous physical activity, having longer sedentary time, longer time spent in sedentary bouts, and more frequent sedentary bouts than boys. Similar results were observed in physical activities of each intensity as well as sedentary behavior variables, both on weekdays/weekends and during-school/after-school periods. These findings emphasize the importance of developing and implementing approaches to increase moderate to vigorous physical activity, as well as decrease prolonged sedentary time and long sedentary bouts, especially for Taiwanese girls.


Author(s):  
Takashi Jindo ◽  
Yuko Kai ◽  
Naruki Kitano ◽  
Kyohsuke Wakaba ◽  
Mitsuru Makishima ◽  
...  

It has been reported that office environment is an important determinant of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in office workers. However, the effect of changes in office environment (office renovation) is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine PA, SB, and space utilization changes among office workers in response to office renovation. This study was a natural experiment at three offices of a single company in Tokyo, Japan. The participants were, 13 workers from one office in the renovation group (mean age: 37.9 ± 10.8 years, percentage of females: 23.1%) and 29 from two offices in the control group (mean age: 42.3 ± 11.2 years, percentage of females: 31.0%). In the renovation, introduction of activity-based working (ABW) and installation of height-adjustable desks (HAD) were adopted. The ABW office was designed to provide various shared workstations, enabling the workers to choose workstations depending on their task or mood. Accelerometer measurement and object detection method using artificial intelligence (AI) technology for video images were used to assess behavior and space utilization before and after the renovation. Two weeks after the renovation, significant improvements in SB (pre- to post-renovation improvements: 346.8 ± 28.6 to 321.2 ± 17.8 min/working-hours) and PA (total PA: 173.2 ± 28.6 to 198.8 ± 17.8 min/working-hours; and light-intensity PA: 130.4 ± 27.1 to 150.7 ± 31.0 min/working-hours) were observed. In addition, the results of the object detection analysis showed that the central aisle of the office and shared HAD workstations near the entrance or window were utilized more frequently than the other spaces. This study suggested that office renovation could improve SB and PA immediately after the renovation. Moreover, utilized spaces and HAD workstations could play an important role to enhance employees’ activity in an ABW office.


Author(s):  
Priscila Cristina dos Santos ◽  
Luiz Rodrigo Augustemak de Lima ◽  
Bruno Gonçalves Galdino da Costa ◽  
Cilene Rebolho Martins ◽  
Giseli Minatto ◽  
...  

Abstract The association of moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior performed in the school context with cardiovascular risk factors is unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether MVPA and SB during school time are associated with single and clustered cardiovascular risk factors in 10- to 16-year-old school students. This study used the baseline data from a non-randomized controlled clinical trial (“MEXA-SE”) conducted on 6th to 9th-grade students from schools in Florianopolis, Brazil. Skinfolds, resting blood pressure, 20-m shuttle-run test, fasting glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and white blood cell counts were obtained. MVPA and SB were objectively measured with accelerometers. A minimum of 180 minutes was considered valid school-time for analysis. Multiple linear regression adjusted for age, sex and habitual physical activity was used. School-time MVPA was positively associated with the peak VO2 (β = 0.17 ml.kg.min-1), and inversely associated with sum of four skinfolds (β = -0.96 mm), diastolic blood pressure (β = -0.36 mmHg), systolic blood pressure (β = -0.301 mmHg); triglycerides (β = -1.49 mg.dL-1), and clustered cardiovascular risk factors (β = -0.123). School-time SB was positively associated with clustered cardiovascular risk factors (β = 0.033). In conclusion, independently of habitual physical activity level, school-time MVPA and a lower time in SB were associated to single and clustered cardiovascular risk factors. Thus, the promotion of strategies aimed increase MVPA and reduce SB at school may prevent the onset and early accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors in adolescence.


Kinesiology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-237
Author(s):  
Jesús Viciana ◽  
Daniel Mayorga-Vega ◽  
Maribel Parra-Saldías

A decline in adolescents’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the increase in their sedentary behavior (SB) have been registered all over the world. In order to increase the MVPA and reduce the SB of adolescents, their day has been analyzed by segments of time, verifying the contribution of each to the daily recommendation of 60 minutes/day. Previous studies have been centered only in physical activity markers, but the SB variables were not compared nor the segments of the school-recess with the out-of-school period or with the weekend. This study aimed to examine the intra- and inter-days differences in the objectively measured levels of PA and SB in adolescents. A sample of 156 Chilean school students (87 boys and 69 girls; M age=13.41; SD=.67 years) participated in the present study. Participants’ PA and SB were objectively measured by a GT3X accelerometer. Overall results showed that only 14% and 9% of Chilean adolescents achieved the daily recommendation of 60 minutes of MVPA on weekdays and the weekend, respectively. School recess was found the best moment for developing MVPA, followed by out-of-school time, and ending with weekend days presenting the worst scenario. Regarding the SB, Chilean adolescents were involved in SB 69.39% of the time on weekdays, and over 70% during the weekend. Different strategies are discussed in order to increase the MVPA and to decrease SB in each segment of a day.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 2649-2658
Author(s):  
Jesús Viciana ◽  
Daniel Mayorga-Vega ◽  
Maribel Parra-Saldías

Abstract Although regular physical activity is recommended for health, highly contaminated air exposure acts to the detriment of the benefits produced in individuals. The purpose of the present study was to compare the accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior during the whole day, in-school time, out-of-school time, and school breaks between highly contaminated air days and non-highly contaminated air days in Chilean adolescents. Nineteen adolescents from Santiago of Chile were assessed by a GT3X accelerometer. The vertical axis and steps per minute for the whole day, and both of these variables together with the percentage of time of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity level in the out-of-school time period were higher in highly contaminated air days than in non-highly contaminated air days (p < 0.05; with effect sizes from r = 0.36 to r = 0.46). Results for sedentary behavior were similar in both conditions for every period of time analyzed. These results allow us to conclude the lack of awareness of the participants in this research regarding the health repercussions in relation to the physical activity performed during air pollution exposure. Some strategies in order to improve the Chilean adolescents’ physical activity and sedentary behavior are suggested and discussed.


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