Using a Recess Program to Increase Children’s Physical Activity
A review of the article: Increasing children’s physical activity during school recess periods
Chin, J.J. & Ludwig, D. (2013). Increasing children’s physical activity during school recess periods. American Journal of Public Health, 103(7), 1229-1234. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301132
Michelle Lam
Program in Public Health
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697
Abstract:
The cross-sectional study conducted by Chin and Ludwig is focused on seeing if introducing the Recess Enhancement Program (REP) in elementary schools would impact the rates of vigorous activity in children. The value of the research study is lowered as it contains several limitations that affect the
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The study was conducted from April to June in 2011 and each school was visited three times. The first visit was to mark the playground characteristics and set up the eight scan areas. An additional two visits were made to record the data from the 25 participating schools before and after lunch. Due to the short time frame of a cross-sectional study, it is difficult for the study to determine that the REP program triggered a change in the physical activity levels in children. The study could only suggest that REP was effective in its objective. The study only allows researchers to collect data from a single point in time. Cross-sectional studies can only report that there are correlations, but cannot determine if there was an association (Ridgers, Salmon, Parrish, Stanley, & Okely, 2012). This is one of the weak characteristics of a cross-sectional study, which indicates that more research must be done in order to determine if these programs can change the rates of physical activity in children (Ortega, Ruiz, & Sjöström, 2007). A way to solve this issue is to change the study design to a longitudinal one. The longitudinal design will allow the researchers to look at the data and determine the long-term effect of REP on the children’s physical activity (Ridgers et al., 2012). The researchers could follow the 25 schools from the beginning of the school year and …show more content…
In the conclusion, the researchers state that New York elementary schools may benefit from using REP to change the rates of physical activity in children. While the study did choose 15 REP schools and 10 non-REP schools in New York, these schools were all associated with Asphalt Green. Asphalt Green is an organization that has programs that schools can participate in. Its objective aims to increase the physical activity in New York children. The schools chosen for the study were either interested in Asphalt Green or previously used Asphalt Green’s services. It creates a bias in the results because these schools are already interested in implementing programs into their school. This also makes it difficult to generalize the results to the entire New York elementary school population (Erwin et al., 2012). A proposed solution is to do a random sample of more elementary schools that are scattered across New York. This will allow the researchers to gain information from schools with different characteristics that may affect the results of the study. A large sample size will strengthen the study and will more likely be able to represent the entire population (Cardon, Cauwenberghe, Labarque, Haerens, & De Bourdeaudhuij, 2008). This study needs to have a larger sample of elementary schools that are not limited to being associated to Asphalt Green in order to represent the New
This article used a mixed method approach to assess the physical activity of 85 students at a public school in Denmark. Data was collected using observation, group interview, an accelerometer, and GPS. Both analyses showed very similar data. The data was broken down into three groups; building, school yard, and field. The students in the building category were the least active and the students in the field category were the most active. The researchers noticed that the students in the building were mainly female and the field was majority boys.
Council on School Health (2012). The Crucial Role of Recess in School. Pediatrics, 131, 182-189. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2993
Exercise, food, technology, and money all play a role in causing childhood obesity. Lack of exercise among adolescents has been proven to be the leading cause of childhood obesity. According to a May 2012 Institute of Medicine report, only half of America’s children and one in four teens get enough activity to meet current guidelines (Doheny and Noonman 1). The recommendations call for children to participate in at least 60 minutes of vigorous to moderate physical activity every day (Hendrick 1). “Only four percent of elementary schools, eight percent of middle schools, and two percent of high schools provide daily physical ...
Obesity is a growing trend that is affecting individuals significantly in the U.S. and throughout the world. “As of 2013, Kentucky ranks 42 in the U.S. for obesity and over the past year the rate of obesity has risen from 30.4 percent to 31.3 percent among its population.”1 Many factors contribute to the rate of obesity in Kentucky, but, in my opinion, the most significant contributing factor to this trend is physical inactivity. I am a resident of a very rural and underdeveloped community in Eastern Kentucky, where a significant portion of the population lives with a triage of comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension). I feel that these disease states that plague individuals could be improved significantly with a life style intervention of increasing physical activity. Several barriers that decrease physical activity for our community must be overcome to improve the health of our community, among the most significant of these barriers includes the built environment due to lack of infrastructure, poverty from lack of jobs, and a negative cultural perception on exercise. I would like to lobby to school board members of Johnson Central High School to allow public access of local community members to use school facilities during non-school hours to increase physical activity to improve the health of its community.
...romoting Physical Activity and a Healthful Diet Among Children: Results of a School-Based Intervention Study. American Journal of Public Health, 81(8), 986-991.
With the expansion in technology, children are hastily becoming more and more inactive. In the past century, kids would play outside from sunrise to sunset. Little did they realize, that playtime served as great daily exercise. Physical activity is a key necessity in keeping a healthy lifestyle. With the advancement of technology and the growing popularity of video games and television, fewer children are getting exercise. Stationary activities, such as video games and watching T.V., are keeping children inside and away from exercise. To blame just the kids for this lack of exercise would be wrong. The parents are the ones responsible for giving the children these games, but that is not all bad. Where it does turn bad however, is when the kids are given these games or televisions without a time restraint. Through research, they have found that 26% of children watch television for more than four hours a day. In efforts to encourage outside playtime for kids, Nickelodeon shut down programming daily from noon to 3pm. This seemed to be a great idea, but does it really help? Children are in school session Monday through Friday from 8am 3pm. The time Nickelodeon chose to go dark is the same time child...
Parrish, A. M., Yeatman, H., Iverson, D., & Russell, K. (2012). Using interviews and peer pairs to better understand how school environments affect young children's playground physical activity levels: a qualitative study. Health Educ Res, 27(2), 269-280. doi: 10.1093/her/cyr049
In her Huffington Post blog article titled Here’s One Way to Wreck a Child’s Education: Take Away Recess, Haley Krischer takes an emboldened stand against the practice of eliminating recess; which is often done as a punishment or to make more time for instructional learning. I stand in agreement with Krischer. I do not agree with schools taking away recess for any reason with the exception of dangerous weather or environmental circumstances. Yet, research indicates how common the 86-ing of recess is occurring in schools. A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2010) revealed 77% of school Principals reported taking away recess as a punishment, and 81.5% of schools allow students to be excluded from recess. Krischer begins the article by introducing her 9 year old son and his affinity for recess: “the only subject he will talk about”. She gives examples of how recess benefits her son such as other students who help him troubleshoot technology issues and challenging him to improve his sports skills. Indeed, the unstructured playtime allows children to explore their environment and develop new ideas and understandings of it and those within it (American Pediatric Association, 2013). Kischer also expressed that children need active play to combat restlessness and that this is especially important for children who may suffer from ADHD, noting that taking away recess as a punishment for misbehavior may be counterproductive and result in increased behavioral problems. A longitudinal study that followed over 10,000 students between the ages of 8 and 9 concluded that student recess of at least 15 minutes resulted in better behavior as rated by teachers (Samuels, 2009).
the ICPA also stats that The outdoors is the best place for children to burn calories, practice emerging physical skills and experience the pure joy of movement. Research has even shown that children who are physically active in school are more likely to be physically active at home, and children who don’t have the opportunity to be active during the school day don’t usually compensate during after-school hours. This will also help the students to feel more energized because the more your body works the more energy you will produce meaning students won't be so tired. Children get one quarter of gym and 3 quarters of band art and computer where you sit in a chair most of the time. And Recess can help children make friend
Meier, D. (2010, September 30). Fisher grade school physical education: Benefits of physical activity. In www.fisher.k12.il.us/meier/benefits.htm. Retrieved February 8, 2011
Movement and physical exercise is key to a child’s life, especially in developing necessary skills to function throughout their whole life. Recess can be a time where children are able to explore how their bodies can function. Student’s can learn and apply skills like bouncing, throwing, catching, running, skipping, and the list may keep going on. Research has even shown that children who are more physically active in school are more likely to be physically active at home. Children who don’t have the opportunity to be active during the school day don’t usually compensate during after-school hours.
School funding cannot be solely to blame for the decrease in physical activity in the education environment. With the increased emphasis on the need to achieve academic aptitude, children as well as their adult parents see athletics as an extra, or something that can be done when and if homework is completed. Not to say that this is not commendable, but evidence supports the fact that athletic programs have the ability to turn at-risk youth in positive directions. Sports programs promote healthy social and physical development while offering positive alternatives to high risk behavior.
20 Nov. 2011.. National Association for Sports and Physical Education. “Recess for Elementary School Students.” Tn. Govt.
Whitman, Nate. "Physical Activity in Schools Is Essential to Reversing Childhood Obesity." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Some activity clubs we provide include, dancing, running, jump roping, basketball and soccer clubs, just to name a few. These clubs encourage kids to stay active. Our PE program also sends out monthly newsletters to the parents that give them ways to help their child live a healthy lifestyle. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education states, “Regular physical activity improves functional status and limits disability during the middle and later adult years. Physical activity contributes to quality of life, psychological health, and the ability to meet physical work demands. Physical education can serve as a vehicle for helping students to develop the knowledge, attitudes, motor skills, behavioral skills, and confidence needed to adopt and maintain physically active lifestyles. The outcomes of a quality physical education program include the development of students’ physical competence, health-related fitness, self-esteem, and overall enjoyment of physical activity. These outcomes enable students to make informed decisions and choices about leading a physically active lifestyle. In early years children derive pleasure from movement sensations and experience challenge and joy as they sense a growing competence in their movement ability. Evidence suggests that the level of participation, the degree of skill, and the number of activities mastered as a child directly influences the extent to which children will continue to participate in physical activity as an