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Accelerometer-Assessed Physical Activity on School Days With and Without Physical Education Among Thai Primary School
Areekul Amornsriwatanakul1, Songdhasn Chinapong2, Korntawat Klinchan1
1College of Sports Science and Technology, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
Background:
This study examined accelerometer-assessed physical activity (PA) among Thai primary school students on days with and without physical education (PE) class and explored how demographic and contextual factors influence children's moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) during the school day.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study involved Thai primary students (grades 5-6) from 5 areas across Thailand. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometers, and demographics were collected via a PE questionnaire. Analyses included Wilcoxon signed-rank test for PA intensity comparisons, and factors associated with MVPA were examined using multilevel generalized linear regression.
Results:
A total of 799 students participated. On PE days, they engaged in more light-intensity PA: 103.5 (110.7) minutes vs 85.8 (84.2) minutes. Regional and school-type differences were observed, with greater MVPA among students in the Northeast (71.8 vs 33.9 min, P < .001) and those attending noncity schools (40.2 vs 31.0 min, P = .014). Regression analyses showed that students who slept <9 hours had 13 minutes less MVPA (P = .003). In addition, each 1-minute increase in sedentary time was positively associated with MVPA (P < .001).
Conclusions:
Under current implementation conditions, PE days were not associated with higher in-school MVPA than non-PE days in this sample. This finding likely reflects PE dose and implementation constraints rather than the absence of PE's potential contribution to MVPA. To strengthen PE's contribution, curriculum adjustments are needed; these include higher intensity activity, more frequent sessions, enhanced teacher training, and region-specific approaches addressing local barriers and opportunities.
