TITLE:
Youth Physical Activity and Enjoyment during Semi-Structured versus Unstructured School Recess
AUTHORS:
Jessyka N. Larson, Timothy A. Brusseau, Benjamin Chase, Angela Heinemann, James C. Hannon
KEYWORDS:
Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA), Step Counts, Physical Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.4 No.8,
August
18,
2014
ABSTRACT: Background: Physical
activity throughout the school day may help reduce the risk of childhood
obesity. Semi-structured recess is a unique approach to create more physical
activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the physical
activity and enjoyment of urban school children during traditional unstructured
recess and semi-structured recess. Method: Children from the Southwestern US (N
= 165) wore a NL-1000 piezoelectric accelerometer during their 15-minute lunch
recess. Children participated in both their traditional unstructured (no
structure and no equipment) recess and semi-structured (organized games and
equipment) recess. An enjoyment scale was completed after both types of recess
formats. Results: During unstructured recess, children accumulated 1028 ± 356
steps and 4.59 ± 2.2 minutes of MVPA compared to 1156 ± 434 steps and 5.44 ± 2.76
minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during semi-structured
recess. Paired sample t-tests
revealed that children took significantly more steps (t = .98; p t = .940; p p = 0.847) between recesses.
Conclusions: It is important for schools to consider creative, semi-structured
recess opportunities to increase step counts and time in MVPA (while
maintaining enjoyment) and reinforce recess as an important component of a
comprehensive school physical activity program.