Physical Activity in Young Schoolchildren in After School Programs

Abstract

BACKGROUND After‐school programs (ASP) provide opportunities to influence children's physical activity (PA). However, little is known about the PA levels of the youngest schoolchildren. The aim of the study was to describe the level of PA intensity and sedentary time among first graders attending ASP in Norway, and to investigate factors that are associated with PA in the ASP. METHODS First graders from 14 ASPs were invited to participate in the study and 426 children were included. The children wore an accelerometer for five consecutive days during their stay in the ASP. Light, moderate, and vigorous PA and sedentary time were registered and analyzed. RESULTS On average, the children accumulated 25.8 minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during their ASP‐stay. However, there was considerable variation within the sample. Sex, as well as body mass, were associated with MVPA. The activity level increased substantially when the children had to be outside. CONCLUSIONS The findings show that on average, the children were quite physically active in the ASP. However, it seems critical to devote increased attention to the least active children and to include extensive outdoor play‐time in the ASP schedule.

Active play in ASP –a matched-pair cluster-randomized trial investigating the effectiveness of an intervention in after-school programs for supporting children’s physical activity

“…Thus, another probable cause for the lack of an overall effect on PA levels is a ceiling effect-at least among the most active children. On average, at the beginning of the study, the children accumulated almost 50% of the recommended 60 min of daily MVPA while being in the ASP [13]. The proportion of MVPA during ASP-time is equal to or above similar studies [18,19].…”

“…At baseline, both gender and BMI were associated with MVPA, where girls performed less MVPA in comparison to boys and children who were either overweight or obese performed less MVPA in comparison those with normal weight [13]. Active Play in ASP did not significantly increase MVPA among girls nor overweight/obese children.…”

“…However, the no-decline in both groups in the present study suggests that the ASP is an area of relatively stable PA-levels. Our previously published baseline analysis showed that the variation in the MVPA levels was large among the participating children [13]. Following the assumption that there is a limit to how much MVPA a child can engage in during ASP time, there is great value in supporting PA among the least active children in order to help them maximize their potential.…”

“…Moreover, there were significant gender differences-with boys having higher MVPA and less sedentary behavior in comparison to girls. All groups, the most as well as the least active, increased their PA intensity when they had to be outdoors [13].…”

“…Thus, children are not provided with sufficient opportunities to be physically active in school and after school programs (ASP) are vital settings for promoting PA among children. Norwegian studies have found that young schoolchildren (6 years of age) had a mean daily MVPA of nearly 30 min while staying in an ASP, however, a minority of children accumulated almost no PA at all, which is of concern [12,13]. Moreover, there were significant gender differences-with boys having higher MVPA and less sedentary behavior in comparison to girls.…”