This pilot study used accelerometers to investigate the effectiveness of a multiple recess school intervention on physical activity patterns in younger elementary children using a post-test only with nonequivalent groups design. First and second grade students (N = 157) participating in a larger study, the LiiNK Project® (Let’s inspire innovation ‘N Kids), wore accelerometers for the duration of the school day for two weeks to measure physical activity intensity and number of steps taken daily. Students attended either an intervention school (N = 90), participating in four 15-min unstructured, outdoor recesses and one 15-min character development lesson daily, or a control school (N = 67), participating in two 15-min unstructured, outdoor recesses daily and no character development program. The intervention students, grades 1 and 2, took more steps (p < 0.001) and time spent in moderate (p < 0.001) and vigorous (p < 0.001) physical activity (MVPA) than the control school students. Intervention students averaged approximately 900 more steps per day than the control school students. These results show young children given 60 min of recess daily continue to increase physical activity patterns over those with 30 min of recess daily. Next steps are to evaluate if children demonstrate healthier body fat levels as a result of these higher patterns of MVPA daily.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is frequently labeled as “flawed” in assessing obesity since it cannot differentiate between muscle and fat leading to misclassifications of healthy individuals. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) may be a more accurate indicator of obesity since it can distinguish the difference between muscle and fat in children. This pilot study investigated discrepancies between BMI and BIA body composition classifications in children with high levels of physical activity.Methods: Participants were selected from three elementary schools (N = 380, K = 76, 1st = 64, 2nd = 62, 3rd = 61, 4th = 83, and 5th = 34) receiving 60 min of outdoor, unstructured play daily. BIA scales were used to collect each child's body fat percentage and BMI score, then those numbers were categorized by BIA and BMI normative values as either underweight, healthy, overweight, or obese.Results: Overall, 26% of the students were classified differently when using the normative classifications for BMI and BIA, with the largest discrepancy found in the overweight category at 38%. Similar inconsistencies were found when students were divided as younger (42%) vs older students (36%), and males (40%) vs. females (35%).Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrated that there is a significant difference in how BMI and BIA discriminate between the different body composition categories. BIA consistently shows to be a more accurate tool in assessing obesity rates in children since it directly measures body fat.

Introduction: Obesity has continued to rise in recent years due to a lack of physical activity. The school environment contributes to this problem as opportunities for physical activity are eliminated for more classroom time. Recess, defined as unstructured, outdoor play, can increase MVPA and improve current obesity trends. This study aimed to examine body fat category shift differences in children who received 40-60 minutes and those who received 30 minutes. A secondary purpose was to examine differences by district, sex, grade, and race across both groups since they received more than the national average for recess. Methods: Students in 2nd-5th grade (7-11 years old) (N=393) were selected from schools serving as an intervention (N=190) or control school (N=203) in a larger longitudinal intervention titled Let’s Inspire Innovation N’ Kids (LiiNK). Bio-electrical impedance analysis was used to categorize students as either underfat, healthy, overfat, or obese. These categories were then used to determine if students shifted a category between pre and post-measurements. Results: At least 30 minutes of recess was significantly associated with a body fat shift in 2nd graders and females. Additionally, the percentage of obese students did not change over the school year. There was no association between the group, sex, or race. Conclusion: Due to this study occurring during COVID-19, it is hard to make definitive conclusions on the effects of increased recess time on obesity. However, some positive trends are pointing towards recess as a successful method of preventing a rise in childhood obesity.