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The assessment of physical activity and nutrition in home schooled versus public schooled children

Douglas E Long1, Lisa M Gaetke, Stephen D Perry

  • 1Dept. of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0219, USA.

Pediatric Exercise Science
|March 25, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Public school children (PSC) engage in more physical activity than home-schooled children (HSC), with no dietary differences observed. This highlights potential environmental factors influencing activity levels in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Comparative Education
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Childhood physical activity and dietary habits are crucial for long-term health.
  • Understanding differences between public school (PSC) and home-schooled children (HSC) is important for public health initiatives.
  • Parental and home environment influences on child behavior warrant investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To descriptively compare physical activity and dietary intake between PSC and HSC.
  • To examine potential parental and home influences on these behaviors.
  • To inform strategies addressing childhood obesity.

Main Methods:

  • Thirty-six matched pairs of children (aged 7-11) participated.
  • Participants wore activity monitors for seven consecutive days.
  • Concurrent dietary intake was recorded for the same period.

Main Results:

  • PSC demonstrated significantly higher total and weekday steps compared to HSC.
  • PSC spent more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than HSC.
  • No significant differences in dietary intake were found between the two groups.

Conclusions:

  • Significant differences in physical activity levels exist between PSC and HSC.
  • Dietary intake appears similar, suggesting physical activity is the key differentiator.
  • Further research into school and home environments is recommended to combat childhood obesity.

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