The Effects of a Physical Education Intervention Program on the Bone Properties of Second- and Third-Grade Pupils: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

Many young children do not participate in sufficient physical activity for promoting optimal bone growth. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of young children who participated in a school-based intervention program on bone properties. The program included structured physical activity, with a focus on the application of mechanical loads on the upper and lower limbs. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted, in which classes were randomly assigned to the intervention or control groups. A total of 295 (50.17% girls) children from the second and third grades from 12 classes in Israel were randomly allocated to an intervention consisting of three 10-minute weekly medium- to high-intensity activities throughout one academic year or to a treatment as usual control group. Bone properties were measured at the distal radius and tibia shaft using speed of sound, before and after the intervention. Distal radius properties improved significantly for both boys and girls in the intervention group (boys: meanpre = 3769.95, meanpost = 3875.08, Δ = 2.80%; girls: meanpre = 3766.27, meanpost = 3890.83, Δ = 3.30%; d = 1.03); whereas, tibia shaft properties only significantly improved for boys (meanpre = 3663.98, meanpost = 3732.75, Δ = 1.90%; d = 1). These findings indicate that distal radius properties of children can be positively affected by a short, easy to implement intervention program that does not require special resources.