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How school time physical activity is the "big one" for daily activity among schoolchildren: a semi-experimental
Benjamin C Guinhouya1, Mohamed Lemdani, Christian Vilhelm
1Institute of Engineering in Health of Lille, Laboratory of Public Health, EA 2694 (University of Lille 2), Loos, France.
Background:
This study was designed to model the relationship between an ActiGraph-based "in-school" physical activity (PA) and the daily one among children and to quantify how school can contribute to the daily PA recommendations.
Method:
Fifty boys and 43 girls (aged 8 to 11 years) wore ActiGraph for 2 schooldays of no structured PA. The daily moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA(d)) was regressed on the school time MVPA (MVPA(s)). Then, a ROC analysis was computed to define the required MVPA(s).
Results:
Children spent 57% of their awaking time at school. School time PA opportunities (ie, recesses: approximately 18% of a child's awaking time) accounted for > 70% of the MVPA(d) among children. Then, MVPA(d) (Y) could be predicted from MVPA(s) (X) using the equation: Y= 2.06 X0.88; R2 = .889, P < .0001. Although, this model was sex-specifically determined, cross-validations showed valid estimates of MVPA(d). Finally, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 90%, MVPA(s), a 34 min x d(-1) was required to prompt the daily recommendation.
Conclusions:
The current study shows the contribution of MVPA at school to recommended activity levels and suggests the value of activity performed during recesses. It also calls for encouraging both home- and community-based interventions, predominantly directed toward girls.
