The Impact Of Stand-biased Desks On After-school Physical Activity Behaviors In Children

Abstract

PURPOSE: To assess changes in after-school time spent performing sedentary behavior (SB), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) among elementary school children in response to the introduction of stand-biased desks in the classroom. METHODS: Thirty-one 6th grade participants were assigned by their teacher to either a traditional (TD) (n=16) or stand-biased (SBD) (n=15) desk. After-school PA and SB were measured using accelerometry on four consecutive weekdays at baseline (prior to introduction of the stand-biased desks), and again following 9-weeks of exposure to either a TD or SBD in the classroom. After-school weather conditions and sport participation were recorded during both measurement periods using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data and the Youth Activity Profile Questionnaire (YAP), respectively. Wilcoxon Rank Sum Tests were used to detect significant differences (p<0.10) in changes in after-school SB and PA between groups. RESULTS: No significant between group differences were found during the after-school period in pre-post changes in time spent performing SB (p=0.770), LPA (p=0.740), vigorous-intensity PA (VPA) (p=0.599), or MVPA (p=0.470). Significant between group differences in the median change in proportion of time spent performing moderate-intensity PA (MPA) (SBD: -1.4%; TD: -0.2%, p=0.093) were detected, with the SBD group experiencing a decrease of 4.3 minutes/after-school period relative to a 0.1 minute increase among TD participants. Coinciding with a change in PA, it was found that the average after-school temperature decreased from 60.0 oF at pre to 11.4 oF at post, while daylight also decreased by 81 minutes during the after-school period. Further, after-school sport participation between groups also changed from pre-post, with TD experiencing an increase of two after-school sport participants, while SBD experienced a decrease in after-school sport participation of two participants. CONCLUSION: Stand-biased desks did not have a negative impact on children’s after-school PA and SB. Instead, seasonal variation and the structure of children’s after- school schedule may have a greater influence on after-school activity than a mild classroom-based stand-biased desk intervention.