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Children's physical activity levels during indoor recess dance videos
Heather Erwin1, Ryann Koufoudakis, Aaron Beighle
1Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, University of Kentucky, College of Education, 115 Seaton Bldg., Lexington, KY 40506-0219, USA. heather.erwin@uky.edu
Background:
Children's physical activity (PA) levels remain low, and schools are being asked to assume a leadership role in PA promotion. Research suggests outdoor recess contributes to children's overall PA levels. However, similar research is not available for indoor recess, which occurs frequently due to a variety of factors. The purpose of this study was to describe PA levels and intensity during indoor recess using PA dance videos.
Methods:
Fifty-four children (27 girls) wore accelerometers for 5 days during indoor recess. Factorial analyses of variance were conducted to examine the differences in PA between sexes and across grades.
Results:
Participants averaged 17.66 (SD = 2.82) minutes in indoor recess. On average, 22.22% (SD = 12.72) was spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 45.70% (SD = 11.29) of time was spent in low-intensity physical activity (LPA) totaling 67.92% (SD = 16.54) of total recess time. Boys accumulated a higher percentage of MVPA and total PA compared to girls.
Conclusions:
Students engaged in PA 68% of indoor recess time, equaling almost 12 minutes of PA during recess. Results suggest PA dance videos are 1 effective method for increasing elementary children's PA during indoor recess as an alternative to sedentary activities.
