This study highlights SES and racial/ethnic disparities in PA environments in Georgia public elementary schools.

BackgroundUsing a cross-sectional design, we assessed the relationship between the time schools provide for physical activity and the proportion of students achieving a healthy aerobic capacity or body mass index.MethodsIn 2013–2014, physical education and grade-level teachers from 905 of 1,244 Georgia elementary schools provided survey data about the frequency and duration of physical activity opportunities offered before, during, and after school. Log-binomial models related the weekly physical activity minutes provided by schools to the proportion of children in the FitnessGram healthy fitness zone for aerobic capacity or body mass index while adjusting for school characteristics and demographics.ResultsDuring-school physical activity time was not associated with student fitness, but schools with before-school physical activity programs had a moderately higher prevalence of healthy aerobic capacity (prevalence ratio among girls: 1.06; 99% confidence interval: 1.00–1.13; prevalence ratio among boys: 1.03; 99% confidence interval: 0.99–1.08). Each additional 30 minutes of recess per week was associated with no more than a 3%-higher proportion of students with healthy body mass indexes (prevalence ratio among girls: 1.01; 99% confidence interval: 1.00–1.03; prevalence ratio among boys: 1.01; 99% confidence interval: 0.99–1.03).ConclusionsThe amount of physical activity time provided by schools is not strongly associated with school-aggregated student fitness. Future studies should be designed to assess the importance of school-based physical activity time on student fitness, relative to physical activity type and quality.

The surveys provided a statewide picture of the physical activity opportunities offered to students and staff members in Georgia elementary schools and demonstrated the effective use of a comprehensive, multicomponent program to offer more school-based physical activity opportunities and to improve student fitness.

Flexible, multi-component interventions like Power Up for 30 increase physical activity opportunities. If future studies identify that school physical activity opportunities positively impact student physical activity, this model may be a feasible strategy for broad-scale implementation.