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After-school program impact on physical activity and fitness: a meta-analysis
Michael W Beets1, Aaron Beighle, Heather E Erwin
1Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA. beets@mailbox.sc.edu
Context:
The majority of children do not participate in sufficient amounts of daily, health-enhancing physical activity. One strategy to increase activity is to promote it within the after-school setting. Although promising, the effectiveness of this strategy is unclear. A systematic review was performed summarizing the research conducted to date regarding the effectiveness of after-school programs in increasing physical activity.
Evidence Acquisition:
Databases, journals, and review articles were searched for articles published between 1980 and February 2008. Meta-analysis was conducted during July of 2008. Included articles had the following characteristics: findings specific to an after-school intervention in the school setting; subjects aged
Evidence Synthesis:
Of the 797 articles found, 13 unique articles describing findings from 11 after-school interventions were reviewed. Although physical activity was a primary component of all the tested interventions, only eight studies measured physical activity. From the six domains, positive effect sizes were demonstrated for physical activity (0.44 [95% CI=0.28-0.60]); physical fitness (0.16 [95% CI=0.01-0.30]); body composition (0.07 [95% CI=0.03-0.12]); and blood lipids (0.20 [95% CI=0.06-0.33]).
Conclusions:
The limited evidence suggests that after-school programs can improve physical activity levels and other health-related aspects. Additional studies are required that provide greater attention to theoretical rationale, levels of implementation, and measures of physical activity within and outside the intervention.
