Background: Children's physical activity (PA) levels remain low, and schools are being asked to assume a leadership role in PA promotion. Research suggests outdoor recess contributes to children's overall PA levels. However, similar research is not available for indoor recess, which occurs frequently due to a variety of factors. The purpose of this study was to describe PA levels and intensity during indoor recess using PA dance videos.
Methods: Fifty-four children (27 girls) wore accelerometers for 5 days during indoor recess. Factorial analyses of variance were conducted to examine the differences in PA between sexes and across grades.
Results: Participants averaged 17.66 (SD = 2.82) minutes in indoor recess. On average, 22.22% (SD = 12.72) was spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 45.70% (SD = 11.29) of time was spent in low-intensity physical activity (LPA) totaling 67.92% (SD = 16.54) of total recess time. Boys accumulated a higher percentage of MVPA and total PA compared to girls.
Conclusions: Students engaged in PA 68% of indoor recess time, equaling almost 12 minutes of PA during recess. Results suggest PA dance videos are 1 effective method for increasing elementary children's PA during indoor recess as an alternative to sedentary activities.
© 2013, American School Health Association.