A Comparison Of Physical Activity Levels And Patterns Between Home And Public School Children

Abstract

Research on children's physical activity has utilized sample populations from public schools but little research has been done on the expanding population of home school youth. Estimates suggest that there are 2 million home school children nationwide and levels are increasing at a rate of 7–15% per year. Due to the inherent differences in their school day, it is important to assess possible differences in physical activity between home and public school children. PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to evaluate possible differences in physical activity levels and patterns between home school and public school children. METHODS Participants included 164 students (52 = Home and 112 = Public), 59% female, 41% male, ranging in age from 9 to 16. Physical activity was assessed with an accelerometer based activity monitor. Cut points defining thresholds for moderate physical activity were used to estimate the number of minutes of physical activity per day. The outcome measure was average minutes of moderatevigorous physical activity. A 2-way (type by sex) MANCOVA was used to examine possible differences in physical activity levels, controlling for age and location. These analyses were conducted for school day (9am-3pm), weekday (9am-9pm), and weekend separately. RESULTS Results indicate home school children were more active than public school children for all analyses. Further weekday analyses yield a significant difference between 9am-noon [F(1, 157) = 17.238, p = .0001] and 3–6pm [F (1, 157) = 4.124, p = .044] with home school children being more active than public school children. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that home school children accumulate more moderate to vigorous physical activity than public school children. Further studies should explore the differential influences that may contribute to these findings.