Before-School Physical Activity Intervention in Elementary School Children

Children in the U.S. exhibit low levels of physical activity. In addition to the overall physical health and fitness benefits with increasing levels of physical activity, improvements in academic performance, mental cognition, and behavior may occur. Despite these benefits, opportunities for children to participate in physical activity are being reduced, particularly in schools. The proposed study is a pilot program with approximately 100 children ages 7-11 years expected to participate. All study participants will partake in a testing and measures session which will include body composition measures, nutrition and physical activity questionnaires, and curriculum-based measures. Following the first testing and measures session, 50 of the 100 children will participate in a 10-12 week, before-school, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) program. This program will consist of non-competitive, MVPA and occur 3 days/week at their school. Subsequent to the physical activity program, all 100 children will then participate in a follow-up testing and measures session. The objective of this proposed pilot study is to determine the feasibility of implementing a before-school, physical activity program as well as explore the effect the program may have on academic performance and health measures.