Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in the Classroom and on Attitudes toward Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial among Primary Students from Eight Countries

Magdalena Mo Ching Mok^{1

2}, Ming-Kai Chin³, Agata Korcz⁴, Biljana Popeska⁵, Christopher R Edginton⁶, Fatma Sacli Uzunoz⁷, Hrvoje Podnar⁸, Dané Coetzee⁹, Luminita Georgescu¹⁰, Arunas Emeljanovas¹¹, Milan Pasic^{12

13}, Govindasamy Balasekaran¹⁴, Elizabeth Anderson¹⁵, J Larry Durstine¹⁵

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Educational Information and Measurement, National Taichung University of Education, 140 Minsheng Road, West District, Taichung City 40306, Taiwan.
² Department of Psychology | Assessment Research Centre, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Taipo, N.T., Hong Kong.
³ The Foundation for Global Community Health, 1550 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy Ste R #206, Henderson, NV 89012, USA.
⁴ Department of Didactics of Physical Activity, Poznan University of Physical Education, Krolowej Jadwigi 27/39, 61-871 Poznan, Poland.
⁵ Faculty of Educational Sciences, Goce Delcev University, Krste Misirkov 10-A, 2000 Stip, Macedonia.
⁶ Department of Health, Recreation and Community Services, 105 Human Performance Center, University of Northern Iowa, 105, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0156, USA.
⁷ School of Sport Sciences and Technology, Department of Coaching Education, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, H Block, 1st Floor, Room 1, 50300 Nevşehir, Turkey.
⁸ University of Zagreb, Faculty of Kinesiology, Horvacanski zavoj 15, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
⁹ Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation (PhASRec), Focus Area, School of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Pitesti, Targul din Vale, 1, 110040 Pitesti, Romania.
¹¹ Institute of Health Sciences, Medical Faculty, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
¹² Primary school Ivo Andric, Ivana Micurina, 38, 11090 Belgrade, Serbia.
¹³ Department Coaching in Sport|Faculty of Sport, University Union-Nikola Tesla, Narodnih Heroja, 30/I, 11070 Belgrade, Serbia.
¹⁴ Physical Education and Sports Science, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1s Nanyang Walk,Singapore SG 637616, Singapore.
¹⁵ Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.

PMID: 32143392
PMCID: PMC7084371
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17051666

Randomized Controlled Trial

Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in the Classroom and on Attitudes toward Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial among Primary Students from Eight Countries

Magdalena Mo Ching Mok et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020.

. 2020 Mar 4;17(5):1666.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051666.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Educational Information and Measurement, National Taichung University of Education, 140 Minsheng Road, West District, Taichung City 40306, Taiwan.
² Department of Psychology | Assessment Research Centre, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Taipo, N.T., Hong Kong.
³ The Foundation for Global Community Health, 1550 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy Ste R #206, Henderson, NV 89012, USA.
⁴ Department of Didactics of Physical Activity, Poznan University of Physical Education, Krolowej Jadwigi 27/39, 61-871 Poznan, Poland.
⁵ Faculty of Educational Sciences, Goce Delcev University, Krste Misirkov 10-A, 2000 Stip, Macedonia.
⁶ Department of Health, Recreation and Community Services, 105 Human Performance Center, University of Northern Iowa, 105, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0156, USA.
⁷ School of Sport Sciences and Technology, Department of Coaching Education, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, H Block, 1st Floor, Room 1, 50300 Nevşehir, Turkey.
⁸ University of Zagreb, Faculty of Kinesiology, Horvacanski zavoj 15, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
⁹ Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation (PhASRec), Focus Area, School of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Pitesti, Targul din Vale, 1, 110040 Pitesti, Romania.
¹¹ Institute of Health Sciences, Medical Faculty, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
¹² Primary school Ivo Andric, Ivana Micurina, 38, 11090 Belgrade, Serbia.
¹³ Department Coaching in Sport|Faculty of Sport, University Union-Nikola Tesla, Narodnih Heroja, 30/I, 11070 Belgrade, Serbia.
¹⁴ Physical Education and Sports Science, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1s Nanyang Walk,Singapore SG 637616, Singapore.
¹⁵ Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.

PMID: 32143392
PMCID: PMC7084371
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17051666

Abstract

Classroom-based physical activity (PA) interventions have received considerable attention due to improvements seen in academic achievement, classroom behaviors, and attitude toward PA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in changing children's attitudes toward PA. Students (N = 3036) aged 8-11 years from schools in Croatia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, and Turkey were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. The experimental group received Brain Breaks® videos during classroom sessions throughout the four months of intervention. Student attitudes toward PA were measured using the Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS) before and after the intervention. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a time interaction effect for all APAS variables except fitness. Time-by-group interaction effects with different effect sizes were found for most APAS variables, with the greatest gain effect noted in the experimental group for self-efficacy, followed by learning from the videos concerning PA benefits, exercise importance, and enjoyment from engaging in PA. This study provides evidence supporting Brain Breaks® in terms of learning experience, attitudes towards PA, and personal motivation. Using exercise videos is recommended as an interactive, technology-based PA solution that can be easily integrated into the school setting.

Keywords: pediatrics; physical activity; physical fitness; public health; teaching; youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Distribution of the APAS scales’ means for the control and experimental groups (pre-test and post-test). Significant differences (* p ≤ 0.05) were found between the control and experimental groups for self-efficacy, learning, benefits, importance, personal best, and fun at the post-test (significance order is largest to smallest).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in the Classroom and on Attitudes toward Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial among Primary Students from Eight Countries

Affiliations

Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in the Classroom and on Attitudes toward Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial among Primary Students from Eight Countries

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical