school children. Therefore, the present article aimed to systematically summarize primary school-based intervention programs and their effects evaluated through RCT design. This study may be helpful for PE teachers to involve children in a healthy lifestyle based on scientific evidence. Method
Search Results
The Effect of Primary School-Based Physical Education Programs: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Markel Rico-González
Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents in Croatia: A Global Matrix 4.0 Systematic Review of Its Prevalence and Associated Personal, Social, Environmental, and Policy Factors
Željko Pedišić, Melanija Strika, Tena Matolić, Maroje Sorić, Sanja Šalaj, Ivan Dujić, Marija Rakovac, Branko Radičević, Hrvoje Podnar, Zrinka Greblo Jurakić, Marjan Jerković, Hrvoje Radašević, Jelena Čvrljak, Tin Petračić, Sanja Musić Milanović, Maja Lang Morović, Slaven Krtalić, Mirjana Milić, Alma Papić, Nataša Momčinović, Marjeta Mišigoj-Duraković, Stjepan Heimer, and Danijel Jurakić
primary school students and 5169 grade 4 secondary school students found that the prevalence of participation in organized sports activities in 2020 was 54.0% among primary school students and 30.0% among secondary school students. 39 In a secondary analysis of data from a study conducted among 809
Device-Measured Change in Physical Activity in Primary School Children During the UK COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: A Longitudinal Study
James Scales, Jasmine Chavda, Erika Ikeda, Ivelina Tsocheva, Rosamund E. Dove, Helen E. Wood, Harpal Kalsi, Grainne Colligan, Lewis Griffiths, Bill Day, Cheryll Crichlow, Amanda Keighley, Monica Fletcher, Chris Newby, Florian Tomini, Fran Balkwill, Borislava Mihaylova, Jonathan Grigg, Sean Beevers, Sandra Eldridge, Aziz Sheikh, James Gauderman, Frank Kelly, Gurch Randhawa, Ian S. Mudway, Esther van Sluijs, and Christopher J. Griffiths
recall bias 10 and mood-congruence bias. 11 Few studies have reported on device-measured physical activity data during lockdowns. One study among Dutch primary school children used accelerometry data from 66 children (10.5 [3.6] y), reporting that sedentary time was increased by 45 minutes per day and
Australian Primary School Principals’, Teachers’, and Parents’ Attitudes and Barriers to Changing School Uniform Policies From Traditional Uniforms to Sports Uniforms
Nicole McCarthy, Kirsty Hope, Rachel Sutherland, Elizabeth Campbell, Rebecca Hodder, Luke Wolfenden, and Nicole Nathan
traditional uniforms, that is, leather shoes with shirts and pants for boys, and a dress, tunic, or skirt, and a shirt with leather shoes and socks or stockings for girls. A 2012 qualitative study of 54 primary school children from 6 schools in South Australia found that girls reported their uniform
Promoting Physical Activity and Executive Functions Among Children: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of an After-School Program in Australia
Sanne L.C. Veldman, Rachel A. Jones, Rebecca M. Stanley, Dylan P. Cliff, Stewart A. Vella, Steven J. Howard, Anne-Maree Parrish, and Anthony D. Okely
enrichment activities on promoting physical activity in primary-school-aged children. The secondary aims included examining the efficacy of the intervention on academic achievement (executive functions) and examining the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Methods Design, Participants, and
A Process Evaluation of an Outreach Physical Activity Program in an Inner-City Primary School
Afroditi Stathi and Simon J. Sebire
Background:
Inner-city schools experience substantial difficulties in providing sufficient physical activity opportunities for their pupils. This study evaluated the Y-Active, an outreach physical activity and well-being program delivered in an inner-city primary school in London, UK by a third-sector partner.
Methods:
A process evaluation focusing on perceived effectiveness and implementation issues was conducted using qualitative case-study methodology. Semistructured interviews and focus groups were conducted with Year 5 and Year 6 pupils (N = 17, age range = 9 to 11 years), Y-Active sports leaders (N = 4), the school head teacher, class teachers (N = 2), and the Y-Active administrator. Transcripts were thematically analyzed and multiple informant and analyst triangulation performed.
Results:
The Y-Active leaders created a positive learning environment supporting autonomy, balancing discipline and structure and providing self-referenced feedback, excellence in tuition and a strong focus on fun and praise. Pupils reported improvements in self-confidence and competence, self-discipline and interpersonal relationships. School staff and Y-Active leaders highlighted that their partnership was built on trust, top-down leadership support and open lines of communication between the provider and the school.
Conclusions:
Collaboration between third sector service providers and inner-city schools represents a promising means of increasing children’s physical activity and well-being.
Active Travel to Primary Schools in Ireland: An Opportunistic Evaluation of a Natural Experiment
Barry Lambe, Niamh Murphy, and Adrian Bauman
Background:
There is a paucity of intervention studies assessing active travel to school as a mechanism to increase physical activity. This paper describes the impact of a community-wide intervention on active travel to primary schools in 2 Irish towns.
Methods:
This was a repeat cross-sectional study of a natural experiment. Self-report questionnaires were completed by 5th and 6th grade students in 3 towns (n = 1038 students in 2 intervention towns; n = 419 students in 1 control town) at baseline and by a new group of students 2 years later at follow-up. The absolute change in the proportion of children walking and cycling to school (difference in differences) was calculated.
Results:
There was no overall intervention effect detected for active travel to or from school. This is despite an absolute increase of 14.7% (1.6, 27.9) in the proportion of children that indicated a preference for active travel to school in the town with the most intensive intervention (town 2).
Conclusions:
Interventions designed to increase active travel to school hold some promise but should have a high-intensity mix of infrastructural and behavioral measures, be gender-specific, address car dependency and focus on travel home from school initially.
Factors Influencing Break-Time Physical Activity of South African Primary School Learners From Low-Income Communities
Monika Uys, Catherine Elizabeth Draper, Sharief Hendricks, Anniza de Villiers, Jean Fourie, Nelia Steyn, and Estelle Victoria Lambert
Background:
The purpose of this study was to assess factors that influence physical activity (PA) levels during break-times in South African primary school children.
Methods:
The System for Observing Play and Leisure Activities in Youth (SOPLAY) was used to observe PA levels during break-times at low-income schools (4 intervention, 4 control). The intervention was based on action-planning including: school environment, curriculum, and family involvement. Categories of observed activity included Sedentary, Eating, Walking, or Vigorous PA. Contextual factors assessed included teacher supervision, equipment, and crowding. Chi-square tests were used to determine associations between PA levels and contextual factors.
Results:
In the 970 observations made, 31% of learners were sedentary, 14% were eating, 29% were walking, and 26% were engaged in vigorous PA. There were no differences in break-time PA between intervention and control groups (NS). With supervision, children were more likely to eat and less likely to do vigorous PA (P = .035). Playground crowding was associated with lower levels of vigorous activity and more sedentary behavior (P = .000).
Conclusions:
PA during break-time was adversely affected by over-crowding and lower with supervision. The results suggest that interventions may be targeted at the school policy environment to reduce these barriers to PA.
Observing Children’s Playground Activity Levels at 13 Illawarra Primary Schools Using CAST2
Anne-Maree Parrish, Don Iverson, Ken Russell, and Heather Yeatman
Background:
Declining levels of children’s physical activity may contribute to Australia’s increasing childhood obesity epidemic. School recess is an underutilized opportunity to increase children’s physical activity.1
Methods:
Thirteen regional Australian public primary schools participated in the study (2946 children). The Children’s Activity Scanning Tool 2 (CAST2) collected observational playground physical activity data. The research also addressed: length of break, socioeconomic status (SES), gender, number of scanning days, and instrument calibration.
Results:
The proportions of Moderate or Vigorous Physically Activity (MVPA) children at the observed schools ranged from 0.4 to 0.7. The odds ratio of boys being MVPA relative to girls ranged from 0.8581 to 2.137. There were significant differences between the mean proportions of 3 days of activity (range P = .001 to P = .015) and no association between SES school groupings (deviance ratio: 0.48; P = .503). Interrater reliability for instrument calibration using Spearman correlations coefficients ranged from r = .71 to r = .99.
Conclusions:
There were significant differences between proportions of MVPA children at the 13 schools and between male and female populations. There was no association between playground physical activity and SES. The monitoring period for CAST2 should be at least 3 days. Interrater reliability indicates that correlations between observers were consistently high.
School Playground Facilities as a Determinant of Children’s Daily Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study of Danish Primary School Children
Glen Nielsen, Anna Bugge, Bianca Hermansen, Jesper Svensson, and Lars Bo Andersen
Background:
This study investigates the influence of school playground facilities on children’s daily physical activity.
Methods:
Participants were 594 school children measured at preschool (age 6 to 7 years) and 3 years later in third grade (518 children age 9 to 10 years) from 18 schools in 2 suburban municipalities in Denmark. Physical activity data were obtained using accelerometers. These were related to the number of permanent play facilities in school grounds and the school playground area (m2).
Results:
The number of play facilities in the school grounds was positively associated with all measures of children’s activity. In preschool every 10 additional play facilities the children had access to was associated with an increase in the average accelerometer counts of 14% (r = .273, P < .001) in school time and 6.9% (r = .195, P < .001) overall. For the children in third grade, access to 10 additional play facilities was associated with an increase in school time activity level of 26% (r = .364, P < .001) and an increase in overall activity level of 9.4% (r = .211, P < .001). School playground area did not affect activity levels independently of the number of permanent play facilities.
Conclusion:
Increasing the number of play facilities in primary school playgrounds may increase the level of children’s daily physical activity.
