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Comparative Study
. 2012 Aug;57(4):711-8.
doi: 10.1007/s00038-012-0355-z. Epub 2012 Mar 14.

The contribution of school breaks to the all-day physical activity of 9- and 10-year-old overweight and non-overweight children

Dorota Groffik  1 , Erik Sigmund, Karel Frömel, František Chmelík, Petra Nováková Lokvencová
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The contribution of school breaks to the all-day physical activity of 9- and 10-year-old overweight and non-overweight children

Dorota Groffik et al. Int J Public Health. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines whether moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), in at least 30-min school breaks (SB), helps to achieve the health-related amount of daily physical activity (PA) and whether these exercises influence after-school PA.

Methods: The ActiTrainer-based PA was monitored over two school days in 239 children aged from 9 to 10 (57.3% female; 20.1% overweight, and 19.2% obese), in Katowice, in February 2010. PA was assessed based on steps, heart rate, and duration of PA.

Results: MVPA, for 30 min during SB, represented an average of 1,258 steps for overweight girls and 1,620 steps for boys, and 1,336 steps for non-overweight girls and 1,758 steps for boys. Children with 30 min of MVPA during SB attained a higher daily amount of steps (p < 0.001) and duration of overall PA (p < 0.01), in comparison with less physically active children.

Conclusion: The daily 30 min of MVPA during SB amounts to 12.5% of the overall number of steps for girls and 16.3% for boys, thus contributing to higher school PA and overall PA and leading to the achievement of the health-related minimum of PA.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of the intensity of overall physical activity in school breaks time for 9- and 10-year-old overweight and non-overweight girls divided based on the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during school breaks (Katowice, Poland, 2010). p level of statistical significance (post hoc Scheffe test), maximum heart-rate values were calculated by a simplified age-related Karvonen equation, i.e., 220-age (Edwards 2010)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of the intensity of overall physical activity during school breaks for 9- and 10-year-old overweight and non-overweight boys divided based on the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during school breaks (Katowice, Poland, 2010). p level of statistical significance (post hoc Scheffe test), maximum heart-rate values were calculated by a simplified age-related Karvonen equation, i.e., 220-age (Edwards 2010)
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