Observation of children's physical activity levels in primary school: Is the school an ideal setting for meeting government activity targets?

Abstract

Given the commitment (and funding) by the British government to promote physical activity among all ages, and despite the inevitable political manipulation of physical education (PE) and school sport, there is now an ideal opportunity to focus on primary schools as a key target group for the future. This study determined the physical activity levels of a sample of pre-adolescents over time in a primary school setting. 374 children (5-11 yrs) were directly observed for a total of 30,650 minutes. Continuous observations of 374 primary PE lessons, 374 break times and 215 lunch times were undertaken between 1999 and 2004. The actual intensity and type of activities taking place were also recorded in five-minute blocks of time. The children were engaged in activity of at least moderate intensity for 11.8 percent of the total time observed, being more active in PE lessons and break times than in lunch times. Boys were shown to be more active than girls, recording activity of at least moderate intensity for 13 percent of total time compared to 10 percent for girls. Given the available data, the primary school is not delivering on its potential to be a good setting to promote physical activity.

Outdoor education gives fewer demands for action regulation and an increased variability of affordances

“…All the same, the equipment they are talking about has a great variability of possibilities, and it is still in a natural environment. Differences between boys and girls are also shown in other studies (Harten et al, 2008;Haug et al, 2008;Lopes et al, 2006;Nyberg et al, 2009;Waring et al, 2007), which all found a higher level of physical activity among boys. One example is the study made by Harten et al (2008), which found a difference in choices between genders: the boys were more likely to participate in games involving gross motor skills, and the girls were more likely to play in smaller places; boys were competitive and aggressive, and girls were more likely to cooperate and take turns.…”

“…This need for physical activity will require cortical regulation of the limbic system to reduce the physical activity (Campos et al, 2004), and since boys are often more physically active than girls (Harten, Olds, & Dollman, 2008;Haug, Torsheim, Sallis, & Samdal, 2008;Lopes, Vasques, & de Oliveira Pereira, 2006;Nyberg, Nordenfelt, Ekelund, & Marcus, 2009;Waring, Warburton, & Coy, 2007) this regulation may be a more stressful process for the boys. The sex-based segregation we observe already in childhood is reviewed by Pellegrini (2004).…”

Preliminary findings of Active Classrooms: An intervention to increase physical activity levels of primary school children during class time

“…Increasing their physical activity levels has been identified as particularly important to the long-term impact on public health (Waring, Warburton, & Coy, 2007). Schools have been targeted as the best environments to implement physical activity interventions as they are a primary location to reach the majority of children (Martin & Murtagh, 2015).…”

An intervention to improve the physical activity levels of children: Design and rationale of the ‘Active Classrooms’ cluster randomised controlled trial

“…It is estimated that less than 20% of children globally [3,4] and less than 50% of children in Ireland [5] meet public health guidelines which recommend that children aged 5-17 years should accumulate at least 60 min of moderate-tovigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day [4]. Increasing the physical activity levels of children has been identified as particularly important given the long-term impact on public health [6]. PA plays an important role in the prevention of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence, and reducing the risk of obesity in adulthood [7].…”