PHYSICAL
EDUCATION'S CONTRIBUTION TO CHILDREN'S
DAILY STEP COUNTS
Written by: Tim
Brusseau, College of Brockport,
State University of New York (biography)
There have been
well-documented increases in overweight
and obese children, and an increase
in sedentary lifestyles in the United
States (Mokdad
et al., 1999). These increases
in overweightness and obesity are exposing
large proportions of the population
to severe health-related problems (Booth,
Gordon, Carlson, & Hamilton, 2000;
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[CDC], 1997). The prevalence
of obesity amongst U.S. children is
the highest in the world (Wang
& Dietz, 2002). Furthermore,
the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness
and the Council on School Health (2006)
have identified youth physical activity
(PA) as a potential means of reversing
the obesity epidemic. Schools (especially
physical education classes) have been
identified as ideal institutional settings
for PA promotion and the prevention
and treatment of childhood obesity
(CDC, 1997; Luepker, et al, 1996; Sallis
& McKenzie, 1991; Story, 1999).
A number of
studies have examined pedometer-determined
PA during physical education classes.
Physical education has traditionally
been linked to PA opportunities for
all children and is generally required
in schools for U.S. children. PA opportunities
during physical education classes have
been recognized as having an important
role in public health (Sallis
& McKenzie, 1991) and often
provide the predominant PA opportunities
for children with obesity or disability-related
issues. Pangrazi, Beighle, and Sidman
(2002) have suggested that 1,200 to
2,000 steps is a reasonable number for
an active 30-minute physical education
class. Studies addressing physical education
activity patterns discussed below are
organized by school level (e.g. elementary
or secondary).
Elementary Physical Education
Louie and Chan (2003) examined the
PA patterns of 145 Hong Kong preschoolers
during a 25-minute physical education
class. The 3-5 year old boys accumulated
an average of 1,470 steps (58.8 steps/minute)
and the girls accumulated an average
of 1,147 steps (45.9 steps/min). Kodish,
Kulinna, Martin, Pangrazi, and Darst
(2006), in an effort to predict PA behavior
using the Theory of Planned Behavior,
explored the PA patterns of 114 fifth
and sixth grade students over two physical
education classes in the Southwest region
of the U.S. The two classes included
a throwing and catching focus and a
track and field focus. Results suggested
that boys accumulated an average of
1,182 steps per class, and the girls
averaged 1,091 steps per class.
Scruggs, et al. (2003) examined the
PA of first and second grade students
during a 30-minute physical education
class. The study included 369 participants,
and the results suggested that boys
accumulated an average of 1,844 to 1,862
steps during physical education. The
girls accumulated similar step count
averages of 1,864 to 1,890 during physical
education. A similar study by Scruggs,
Beveridge, Watson, and Clocksin (2005)
quantified the steps of 1st-4th grade
students during a 30-minute physical
education class. The results indicated
that first and second grade students
(n=126) accumulated an average of 1,862
(boys) and 1,755 (girls) steps. Third
and fourth graders (n=131) accumulated
averages of 2,035 (boys) and 1,858 (girls)
steps.
Tudor-Locke et al. (2006) examined
step values in physical education as
part of the segmented day. Eighty one
11-12 year olds in the sixth grade were
monitored for six school days in the
Southwest U.S. During a 30-minute physical
education class, the participants accumulated
an average of 1,429 and 1,410 steps,
respectively for boys and girls. A recent
study examined the steps accumulated
during physical education of fourth
and fifth grade children across six
schools in Arizona. The children accumulated
1,662 and 1,581 for boys and girls,
respectively (Brusseau,
Kulinna, Tudor-Locke, Ferry, van der
Mars, & Darst, 2009).
Secondary Physical Education
Flohr, Todd, and Tudor-Locke (2006)
determined the step counts of 44 seventh
grade students during physical education
classes in the U.S. Pedometers were
used for two weeks, and students were
prompted by researchers to record steps
during (as well as before and after)
physical education classes. Boys accumulated
an average of 2,379 steps and girls
accumulated an average of 1,782 steps
during a 50-minute physical education
class. Reed, Metzker, and Phillips (2004)
examined the steps counts of U.S. middle
school students (grade 6-8) during a
45-minute physical education class.
The study indicated that 6th graders
(approximately 11 years old) accumulated
an average of 1,598 (boys) and 1,312
(girls) steps during physical education.
Seventh-grade students accumulated an
average of 2,365 (boys) and 1,850 (girls)
steps and eighth graders accumulated
an average of 1,638 (boys) and 1,696
(girls) steps during physical education.
The small number of 8th graders (n=24)
was a limitation that the author suggested
may have skewed the data.
Summary of the Findings
Elementary school aged boys accumulated
a range of approximately 1,200 - 2,000
steps in physical education across the
five studies for this age. Girls accumulated
a range of 1,100 - 1,900 steps during
the same 30-minute physical education
classes. Middle school aged youth accumulated
a range of approximately 1,600 - 2,400
steps during physical education classes
for boys and 1,300 - 1,800 steps for
girls during 45-50 minute physical education
classes.
Further Considerations
Little evidence exists, however, that
illustrates the actual contribution
of physical education to the overall
physical activity (PA) patterns of children
(i.e. Do children accumulate more steps
on days that they have physical education?).
One recent study (Brusseau,
Kulinna, Tudor-Locke, Darst, & van
der Mars, 2009) examined the
physical education day and non-physical
education day step patterns of 829 fourth
and fifth grade children.
The study found a steps/day average
of 12,979 (14,197 steps/day for boys
and 12,058 steps/day for girls) on days
in which they had physical education
classes. On non-physical education school
days, the participating youth accumulated
11,809 steps/day (12,788 steps/day for
boys and 11,047 steps/day for girls).
Interestingly, the children that had
multiple days of physical education
per week (n = 229) averaged 12,454 steps/weekday
compared to 11,586 (? = 868) for students
that had only a single day of physical
education.
These recent results suggest that physical
education days may contribute an additional
1,409 and 1,011 steps/day for boys and
girls, respectively. Further, children
with multiple days of physical education
accumulated 846-1046 more steps per
day than those with only one day of
physical education. Taking these findings
into consideration, over the course
of a week, it is possible for a weekly
increase of 5,230 steps if children
are exposed to daily physical education.
references
Dr. Tim Brusseau is an Assistant Professor
in the Department of Kinesiology, Sport
Studies, & Physical Education at
the College at Brockport, State University
of New York. Dr. Brusseau’s teaching
specialty is secondary physical education
and coaching. His research interests
are related to understanding children
and youth physical activity and interventions
targeting their physical activity.
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