Factors Associated With Leisure Time Physical Activity Among Schoolchildren in a Predominantly Latino Community

Abstract

BACKGROUND: School initiatives aimed at increasing physical activity (PA) may improve the health of children in low-income communities.METHODS: Assessors completed 5909 observations of students' PA during leisure periods using a validated instrument in 19 schools in low-income Latino communities. We examined relationships between school environment factors (eg, presence of playground equipment) and levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). RESULTS:Overall, 16.4% of students were engaged in vigorous activity, lower than reported in prior analyses. Consistent with earlier reports, boys were more engaged in vigorous PA than girls (18.6% vs 13.2%). Playground equipment, such as balls and jump ropes, were present in 27.5% of activity areas. Supervision was present in 83.1% of observations; however, staff members were only observed leading organized activity in 1.7%. Playground equipment was associated with higher rates of MVPA, particularly among elementary boys (p < .0001). Staff supervision was not associated with MVPA, possibly because staff members rarely led organized activity. CONCLUSIONS:We found low rates of leisure time PA among students in this low-income Latino community. The presence of playground equipment was favorably associated with activity levels. Increasing the availability of playground equipment might promote activity among children in similar populations. Keywords: physical activity; childhood obesity; school recess; child and adolescent health; health policy; physical fitness and sport.Citation: Escaron AL, Vega-Herrera C, Steers N, Chung J, Martinez C, Hochman M, Lara M. Factors associated with leisure time physical activity among schoolchildren in a predominantly Latino community.

Leisure Involvement Level of 40 and Over Aged Individuals

“…The most important of these quests is to evaluate the time of individuals by doing sports activities. Many studies have reported that leisure activities are essential for sports activities (Escaron et al, 2019;Ayhan et al, 2018;Ekinci et al, 2019;Berlin et al, 2018). The adaptation of people to changes in the increase of leisure time, simplifying their lives, extending their life span and made more significant contributions to increase their enjoyment of life by giving them more time (Mansuroğlu, 2002).…”

Program Evaluation of Environmental and Policy Approaches to Physical Activity Promotion in a Lower Income Latinx School District in Southeast Los Angeles

“…This study presented findings from three unique assessments preceding and following an intervention to enhance students’ physical activity levels in one underserved school district. Key evaluation findings were as follows: (1) the school district’s PEPA wellness policy comprehensiveness exceeded strength, suggesting that there are opportunities to enhance the written policy language as well as prioritize incorporation of more evidence based strategies into the wellness policy; (2) during leisure times, vigorous activity levels were low for boys and girls relative to what others have reported in the literature suggesting that significantly more attention is needed to redress the lower vigorous activity levels observed in girls; (3) the after school programs offered a variety of physical activities that appeal to boys and girls, however, there is room for improvement in dedicating a greater percentage of the schedule time to physical activity [ 21 , 48 , 54 ]. Previously we reported on the FQHC team’s efforts to prioritize recommendation of evidence-based physical activity strategies into this district’s wellness policy in order to build in practices such as addressing time per week of PE instruction; recess; before/after school opportunities for physical activity.…”

“…Further analysis is underway to determine what impact equipment had on students’ physical activity over the course of this initiative [ 60 ]. We previously reported that the availability of loose playground equipment positively impacted MVPA [ 48 ]. Previous literature has demonstrated positive outcomes among elementary aged girls when the school playground environment is enhanced during recess time and merit additional consideration.…”

“…Consistent with the SOPLAY protocol, trained data collectors made systematic and periodic scans of individuals and contextual factors within predetermined target areas including marked courts, grassy fields, and blacktop [ 48 ]. During a scan, the activity of each student is coded as Sedentary, Walking, or Very Active using a three-way counter—a first scan is completed to gain a count for female students in each of these activity categories while a second scan is completed to gain a count of male students in each of these categories.…”

“…Only 19.9% of children ages 6–17 years obtained recommended amount of aerobic and muscle-strengthening each week; below the Healthy People 2030 target goal of 24.1% [ 3 , 47 ]. The purpose of this study was to report on a subset of a larger healthy eating, active living community health initiative within SPA7 which included 19 elementary and secondary schools across five school districts and was previously reported [ 48 , 49 ]. The purpose of this case study was to report on one of these district’s efforts at enhancing students’ physical activity levels by presenting data from physical activity assessments at three levels ((1) district-level assessment of the written quality of the wellness policy; (2) school level observation of student’s leisure time physical activity levels during the school day; (3) after-school program site practices and policies), and extrapolate lessons learned and recommendations for future research [ 30 ].…”