Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jan 31;20(1):147.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8278-8.

Physical education environment and student physical activity levels in low-income communities

Soyang Kwon  1 , Sarah Welch  2 , Maryann Mason  2
Affiliations

Physical education environment and student physical activity levels in low-income communities

Soyang Kwon et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of physical education (PE) class characteristics, such as lesson context, teacher's physical activity (PA) promotion behavior, and lesson location, with student engagement in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) during PE lessons in elementary school (ES), middle school (MS), and high school (HS).

Methods: The study sample included 2106 PE classes from 40 schools located in low-income communities. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) was used to assess lesson context, teacher's behavior, and student PA during PE lessons. Mixed models were used to examine the association between PE class characteristics and the probability of meeting the recommended level of MVPA during PE lessons (MVPA ≥50%), accounting for within-school random effects and school characteristics.

Results: Almost all PE classes (90%) with ≥60-70% of lesson time spent in motor content and ≥ 10-20% in teacher's in-class PA promotion met the recommended level of MVPA across the school levels. More specifically, among the sub-categories of motor content, more lesson time spent in fitness was significantly associated with MVPA ≥50% in all school levels. However, more lesson time spent in game play was a significant factor only in ES (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.4-3.0). Outdoor lessons were a significant factor in ES (OR = 5.3; 95% CI = 3.1-9.0) and MS (OR = 21.0; 95% CI = 6.3-69.4), but not HS (OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 0.6, 3.2).

Conclusions: PE lessons with higher motor content and higher teacher's in-class PA promotion are more likely to meet the recommended level of MVPA in all school levels. However, the sub-categories of motor content and lesson location could impact student MVPA differently by school levels.

Keywords: Elementary school; High school; Lesson context; Middle school; Motor content; SOFIT; Teacher behavior.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Physical Activity Guidelies for Americans Committee . 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2018.
    1. Pate RR, Davis MG, Robinson TN, et al. Promoting physical activity in children and youth: a leadership role for schools: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council on nutrition, physical activity, and metabolism (physical activity committee) in collaboration with the councils on cardiovascular disease in the young and cardiovascular nursing. Circulation. 2006;114(11):1214–1224. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.177052. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Strategies to improve the quality of physical education. 2010.
    1. Association for Physical Education. Health position paper. 2015. http://www.afpe.org.uk/physical-education/afpe-health-position-paper/ Accessed 9 Dec, 2019.
    1. Hollis JL, Williams AJ, Sutherland R, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels in elementary school physical education lessons. Prev Med. 2016;86:34–54. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.11.018. - DOI - PubMed