Chapter 7 Effects of a Classroom-Based Physical Activity Program on Children’s Physical Activity Levels

Abstract

High levels of physical inactivity are evident among many American children. To address this problem, providing physical activity (PA) during the school day within the CSPAP framework, is one strategy to increase children’s PA. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a classroom-based PA program on children’s PA. Two hundred and ten students from one school participated in TAKE 10! for 12 weeks. All students wore pedometers and a sample of 64 students wore accelerometers for 4 days during week 1 (baseline), week 8 (midintervention), and week 12 (end-intervention). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. The results showed that students’ daily in-school step counts increased by 672 steps from baseline to midintervention ( P < .001). Students’ moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) increased by approximately 2 minutes from baseline to end-intervention ( P < .01). In conclusion, participating in TAKE 10! helps children strive toward the goal of recommended daily MVPA.