Abstract
Objective: Fewer than 10% of French children meet the WHO recommendations for physical activity (PA). As engaging in play activities is a key way to promote PA in children, we evaluated the effect of a sports kit called “Le Sport Ca Me Dit” (“Sport is fun”) that provides a recreational way to engage in sports. Design: This was an open longitudinal controlled study. The children were divided into two groups for the first 7 weeks (Period 1): an Action group that used the kit for two recreational sessions per week (comprising six different activities) and a Control group that was not provided use of the kit. For the next 7 weeks (Period 2), neither group was provided use of the kit. Setting: Six towns in northern France. Subjects: 213 children aged 8-11 were recruited: 122 for the Control group and 91 for the Action group. Each child received a 3D accelerometer wristband to measure their level of PA during the 14 weeks of the study. In parallel, the children completed a questionnaire, 3 times (before (T0), during (T1) and at the end of the study (T2)), regarding their PA habits, screen time, and sleep habits. Results: A significant increase in the steps number was observed when the sports kit was used (p=0.025); although this effect was lost over time (p=0.672). Subpopulation analysis revealed a significant increase in the steps number and light PA in overweight children in the Action group for both periods (p=0.018 and p=0.012). Conclusion: The use of the sports kit increased the PA level of the children, and particularly in overweight children. Although these results require further investigation, they provide novel insights in regard to overweight children.
Highlights
The health protective and health enhancing effects of physical activity (PA) on youths have been well documented [1,2]
Our results demonstrate that the effects of the sports kit on PA were: (i) use of the kit resulted in an increase in the daily steps number and LPA without any compensatory increase in the amount of time spent engaged in sedentary activities, as measured by questionnaire
These data take into account the two days per week using kit as well as the other days of the week. (ii) use of the kit resulted in an increase in the daily steps number and LPA in overweight children even after terminating its use, without any compensatory increase in the amount of time spent engaged in sedentary activities
Summary
The health protective and health enhancing effects of physical activity (PA) on youths have been well documented [1,2]. There is an inverse relationships between the total physical activity and/or the total time accumulated in moderate-to-vigorous activity and the body’s fat content [3], clustering of cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic risk factors [4,5]. There is a positive relationships between PA and aerobic fitness in children [3]. Recent studies have shown that interrupting sedentary time with brief moderate-intensity walking can improve short-term metabolic function in children who are not overweight [7]. WHO is recommended that children engage in ≥ 60-minute of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) on a daily basis, while limiting their sedentary activities
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