Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Physical Activity Measurement in Children Accepting Table Tennis Training
Published on: July 27, 2022
Opportunities for extracurricular physical activity in North Carolina middle schools
Michael B Edwards1, Michael A Kanters, Jason N Bocarro
1Dept of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Background:
This study's purpose was to assess the opportunities for North Carolina adolescents to be physically active in extracurricular middle school environments and to compare opportunities across community types.
Methods:
Data were analyzed based on the results of an electronic questionnaire distributed to a sample of 431 schools with a response rate of 75.4% (N = 325).
Results:
Nearly all schools offered interscholastic sports while fewer than half offered intramurals or noncompetitive activities to students. "Open gym" was offered at only 35% of schools, while 24% of schools offered extracurricular activities to students with disabilities. Overall, 43.4% of schools offered special transportation to students who participated in some extracurricular physical activities. Schools in rural areas generally offered fewer programs and had fewer supports than schools located in more urbanized areas. Over two-thirds of rural schools offered no extracurricular programs other than interscholastic sports.
Conclusions:
Schools can be important settings for physical activity. North Carolina's middle schools and its rural schools in particular, are falling short in efforts to provide extracurricular physical activity programming recommended by researchers and policy groups. Lower accessibility to extracurricular physical activities may partially contribute to higher levels of physical inactivity found in the state.
More Related Videos
10:57Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
Published on: August 22, 2012
09:55Bridging the Technology Divide in the COVID-19 Era: Using Virtual Outreach to Expose Middle and High School Students to Imaging Technology
Published on: September 28, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Exercise and Muscle Performance
Endurance exercises
Endurance exercises involve running, swimming, or cycling, which require repetitive movements with low force output. When a person engages in endurance exercise, a few noticeable changes occur in their skeletal muscles. For instance, the number of capillaries...
Exercise and Cardiac Output
Sustained exercise increases the muscles' oxygen demand, which can be met...
Inclusive Fitness
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
Exercise and Cardiovascular Response
Light to moderate physical activity initiates a series of interconnected responses in the body. The heart rate modestly increases in anticipation of the workout, followed by widespread vasodilation as oxygen consumption by skeletal muscles increases. This results in decreased peripheral resistance, increased capillary blood flow, and accelerated...