After-school Program Environments: Quality Elements for Promoting Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

Abstract

After-school programs provide a setting to reach children to provide moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and healthful eating (HE) opportunities, however, no research to date has extensively described MVPA and HE opportunities in the afterschool environment. PURPOSE: The current study described the quality of the after-school environment for its impact on children's MVPA and HE, independent of any intervention. METHODS: Seven after-school programs were observed for information regarding session type, physical activity, session context, leader behavior, and snack quality using validated instruments such as SOFIT and SOPLAY. RESULTS: After-school settings offered an average of four different sessions per day: active recreation (1.5 times per day), academic time (.76 times per day), non-active recreation (.48 times per day), and enrichment activities (.23 times per day). Children were provided with a daily snack. On 36% of the days observed, this snack included fruit, fruit juice, or vegetables. There was significantly more time spent in MVPA during free play sessions (69%) compared to organized adult-led sessions (51%). There was also significantly more discouragement of physical activity during organized adult-led sessions (29%) as compared to the free play sessions (6%). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of after-school programs can be improved by providing fruits and vegetables as snacks, offering more free play activities, training the afterschool staff in simple, structured games for use in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings, and training after-school staff to promote and model MVPA and HE in and out of the after-school setting. This study was supported by National Research Initiative Grant no. 2005-35215-15418 from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Human Nutrition and Obesity Program.