The contributing role of physical education in youth’s daily physical activity and sedentary behavior

Zan Gao,Senlin Chen,Youngwon Kim

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-110

Abstract

BackgroundSchool physical education (PE) is considered as an effective channel for youth to accumulate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and reduce sedentary time. The purpose of this study was to determine the contributing role of PE in daily MVPA and sedentary time among youth.MethodsThe study recruited 67 sixth grade children (29 boys; Mean age = 11.75) from two suburban schools at a U.S. Midwest state, 48 of whom contributed ≥10 hours of physical activity (PA) data per day were included for analysis. An objective monitoring tool (i.e., Sensewear armband monitor) was used to capture the participants’ MVPA and sedentary time for 7–14 days. Pearson product–moment correlation analysis (r), multi-level regression analyses, and analysis of variance were conducted for data analysis.ResultsMVPA and sedentary time in PE showed significant positive associations with daily MVPA and sedentary time, respectively (r = 0.35, p < 0.01; r = 0.55, p < 0.01). Regression analyses revealed that one minute increase in MVPA and sedentary behavior in PE was associated with 2.04 minutes and 5.30 minutes increases in daily MVPA and sedentary behavior, respectively, after controlling for sex and BMI. The participants demonstrated a significantly higher level of MVPA (p = .05) but similar sedentary time (p = 0.61) on PE days than on non-PE days. Boys had significantly more daily MVPA (p < .01) and less sedentary time (p < .01) than girls; while higher BMI was associated with more sedentary time (p < .01).ConclusionsPE displayed a positive contribution to increasing daily MVPA and decreasing daily sedentary time among youth. Active participation in PE classes increases the chance to be more active and less sedentary beyond PE among youth.

Highlights

School physical education (PE) is considered as an effective channel for youth to accumulate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and reduce sedentary time
As the study was conducted among youth in free-living environments, this compliance level was deemed high, which ensured the trustworthiness of the recorded data for MVPA and sedentary time
Since PE classes were canceled on certain days as per the school calendars, only 48 of the 67 participants who took at least one PE class were included to analyze the contributions of MVPA and sedentary time from PE

Summary

Introduction

School physical education (PE) is considered as an effective channel for youth to accumulate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and reduce sedentary time. Participating in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) regularly plays a key role in the prevention and control of childhood obesity, as MVPA is positively associated with significant caloric expenditure as well as a variety of health benefits [3]. The national recommendation for engaging in MVPA during PE clarified that a minimum 50% of PE class time should be devoted to MVPA [21,22], but this recommendation has rarely been achieved in numerous PE programs [23,24]. This does not suggest PE contributes little to youth’s daily MVPA. Given the small proportion of adolescents (8%) who met the recommended 60 minutes of MVPA per day, providing adolescents with regular PE may substantively increase the likelihood for them to meet the recommendations [18]

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