A repeated measurement study investigating the impact of school outdoor environment upon physical activity across ages and seasons in Swedish second, fifth and eighth graders

BMC Public Health

Cecilia Boldemann¹  Maria Kylin⁴  Fredrika Mårtensson⁴  Antonio Ponce De Leon³  Anders Raustorp²  Peter Pagels³ 

[1] Center for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, SE, Sweden;Department of Food and Nutrition, and Sport Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden;Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SE, Sweden;Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, SE, Sweden

关键词: Pupils;    Accelerometers;    School yard;    Physical activity;    Outdoor environment;   

Others  :  1128774
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-14-803

 received in 2014-03-20, accepted in 2014-07-31,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

School children are confined to and exposed to outdoor environment that happens to be at their disposal during compulsory school time. The health-promoting potential of outdoor environment, and the use of it, is therefore important. We have studied the impact of school outdoor environment in terms of playground features, space, topography and vegetation upon the patterns of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) across ages and seasons in Swedish pupils at compulsory school.

Methods

Four schools in the Middle and Southern parts of Sweden, with outdoor environments differing in playground features, space, topography and vegetation were analyzed during one school year. A sample of 196 children was drawn from eligible pupils in grades 2, 5 and 8, aged 7–14 years. PA was monitored with time-stamped Actigraph accelerometers GT3X+, measuring different intensity levels during outdoor time. Maps were used to mark places where the children stayed and what they did during outdoor time.

Results

Mean MVPA during outdoor stay was 39 minutes for the entire school year, time in MVPA correlated positively with outdoor time, as did MVPA with used outdoor play area (p < 0.001). Outdoor MVPA declined with age, boys accumulated more MVPA than girls at all ages (p < 0.001). Ball play areas increased MVPA in 5^th graders in September and May (p < 0.001). Overall, ball play areas increased 5^th graders’ relative MVPA, and helped maintaining it with increasing age in boys but not in girls, whereas woodland stimulated and contributed to maintaining girls’ MVPA with increasing age. Outdoor temperature significantly impacted (p < 0.01) MVPA throughout all seasons.

Conclusion

We conclude that school outdoor environment design and outdoor play time impact physical activity on a daily basis and may contribute to increasing girls’ physical activity and moderate the sharp decline in physical activity by age. The school outdoor environment may thus be a potential health promoter during school time.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Pagels et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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