The Effects of a Yearlong Recess Intervention on Body Fat Shifts in Elementary-Aged Children

Authors

  • David J. Farbo Department of Kinesiology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
  • Deborah J. Rhea Department of Kinesiology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4247.2022.11.02.1

Keywords:

Body fat, recess, unstructured play, school, children, obesity, bio-electrical impedance analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity has continued to rise in recent years due to a lack of physical activity. The school environment contributes to this problem as opportunities for physical activity are eliminated for more classroom time. Recess, defined as unstructured, outdoor play, can increase MVPA and improve current obesity trends. This study aimed to examine body fat category shift differences in children who received 40-60 minutes and those who received 30 minutes. A secondary purpose was to examine differences by district, sex, grade, and race across both groups since they received more than the national average for recess.

Methods: Students in 2nd-5th grade (7-11 years old) (N=393) were selected from schools serving as an intervention (N=190) or control school (N=203) in a larger longitudinal intervention titled Let’s Inspire Innovation N’ Kids (LiiNK). Bio-electrical impedance analysis was used to categorize students as either underfat, healthy, overfat, or obese. These categories were then used to determine if students shifted a category between pre and post-measurements.

Results: At least 30 minutes of recess was significantly associated with a body fat shift in 2nd graders and females. Additionally, the percentage of obese students did not change over the school year. There was no association between the group, sex, or race.

Conclusion: Due to this study occurring during COVID-19, it is hard to make definitive conclusions on the effects of increased recess time on obesity. However, some positive trends are pointing towards recess as a successful method of preventing a rise in childhood obesity.

References

Anderson PM, Butcher KF, Schanzenbach DW. Understanding recent trends in childhood obesity in the United States. Econ Hum Biol 2019; 34: 16-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2019.02.002

Sanyaolu A, Okorie C, Qi X, Locke J, Rehman S. Childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States: A public health concern. Glob Pediatr Health 2019; 6: 2333794X19891305-2333794X. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X19891305

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Childhood Obesity Facts 2021 [Available from: https: //www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html.

World Health Organization. Obesity and Overweight 2021 [Available from: https: //www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight.

Sarwer DB, Polonsky HM. The psychosocial burden of obesity. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am 2016; 45(3): 677-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecl.2016.04.016

Kumar S, Kelly AS. Review of childhood obesity: From epidemiology, etiology, and comorbidities to clinical assessment and treatment. Mayo Clinic Proc 2017; 92(2): 251-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.09.017

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical Activity Facts 2021 [Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-schools/physicalactivity/facts.htm.

Barnett TA, Kelly AS, Young DR, Perry CK, Pratt CA, Edwards NM, et al. Sedentary behaviors in today's Youth: Approaches to the prevention and management of childhood obesity: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2018; 138(11): e142-e59. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000591

Aubert S, Barnes JD, Abdeta C, Nader PA, Adeniyi AF, Aguilar-Farias N, et al. Global matrix 3.0 physical activity re-port card grades for children and youth: Results and analysis from 49 countries. J Phys Act Health 2018; 15(s2): S251.

Egan CA, Webster CA, Beets MW, Weaver RG, Russ L, Michael D, et al. Sedentary time and behavior during school: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Health Educ 2019; 50(5): 283-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2019.1642814

Nally S, Carlin A, Blackburn NE, Baird JS, Salmon J, Murphy MH, et al. The effectiveness of school-based interventions on obesity-related behaviours in primary school children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Children (Basel) 2021; 8(6): 489. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8060489

Watson A, Timperio A, Brown H, Best K, Hesketh KD. Effect of classroom-based physical activity interventions on academic and physical activity outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2017; 14(1): 114. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0569-9

Errisuriz V, Golaszewski N, Born K, Bartholomew J. Systematic review of physical education-based physical activity interventions among elementary school children. J Prim Prev 2018; 39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-018-0507-x

Mears R, Jago R. Effectiveness of after-school interventions at increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels in 5-to 18-year olds: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med 2016; 50: 1315-24. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094976

Parrish A-M, Okely AD, Stanley RM, Ridgers ND. The effect of school recess interventions on physical activity. Sports Med 2013; 43(4): 287-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0024-2

Demetriou Y, Gillison F, McKenzie T. After-school physical activity interventions on child and adolescent physical activity and health: A review of reviews. Adv in Phys Ed 2017; 7: 191-215. https://doi.org/10.4236/ape.2017.72017

Frank ML, Flynn A, Farnell GS, Barkley JE. The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess. J Exerc Sci Fit 2018; 16(1): 37-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2018.03.001

Liu Z, Xu HM, Wen LM, Peng YZ, Lin LZ, Zhou S, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the overall effects of school-based obesity prevention interventions and effect differences by intervention components. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2019; 16(1): 95. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0848-8

Gray P. The decline of play and the rise of psychopathology in children and adolescents. Am J Play 2011; 3: 443-63.

Lee RLT, Lane S, Brown G, Leung C, Kwok SWH, Chan SWC. Systematic review of the impact of unstructured play interventions to improve young children's physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. Nurs Health Sci 2020; 22(2): 184-96. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12732

Rhea D. Recess: The forgotten classroom. Instruct Lead J 2016; 29: 2-6.

Bento G, Dias G. The importance of outdoor play for young children's healthy development. Porto Biomed J 2017; 2(5): 157-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbj.2017.03.003

Herrington S, Brussoni M. Beyond Physical Activity: The Importance of Play and Nature-Based Play Spaces for Children’s Health and Development. Curr Obes Rep 2015; 4(4): 477-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0179-2

Jarrett OS. A research-based case for recess: Position Paper. US Play Coalition in collaboration with American Association for the Child's Right to Play (IPA/USA) and the Alliance for Childhood [Internet] 2019. Available from: https: //usplaycoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Need-for-Recess-2019-FINAL-for-web.pdf.

Ramstetter CL, Murray R. Time to Play: Recognizing the benefits of recess. Amer Edu 2017; 41: 17.

Brusseau TA, Kulinna PH. An examination of four traditional school physical activity models on children's step counts and MVPA. Res Q Exerc Sport 2015; 86(1): 88-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2014.977431

Razak LA, Yoong SL, Wiggers J, Morgan PJ, Jones J, Finch M, et al. Impact of scheduling multiple outdoor free-play periods in childcare on child moderate-to-vigorous physical activity: a cluster randomised trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2018; 15(1): 34. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-018-0665-5

Farbo D, Maler LC, Rhea DJ. The preliminary effects of a multi-recess school intervention: Using accelerometers to measure physical activity patterns in elementary children. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238919

Fernandes MM, Sturm R. The role of school physical activity programs in child body mass trajectory. J Phys Act Health 2011; 8(2): 174-81. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.8.2.174

Casolo A, Sagelv E, Bianco M, Casolo F, Galvani C. Effects of a structured recess intervention on physical activity levels, cardiorespiratory fitness, and anthropometric characteristics in primary school children. J Phys Edu Sport 2019; 19: 1796-805.

Howe CA, Freedson PS, Alhassan S, Feldman HA, Osganian SK. A recess intervention to promote moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Pediatr Obes 2012; 7(1): 82-8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2047-6310.2011.00007.x

Ansari A, Pettit K, Gershoff E. Combating Obesity in Head Start: Outdoor Play and Change in Children's Body Mass Index. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2015; 36(8): 605-12. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000215

Borga M, West J, Bell JD, Harvey NC, Romu T, Heymsfield SB, et al. Advanced body composition assessment: from body mass index to body composition profiling. J Investig Med 2018; 66(5): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1136/jim-2018-000722

Bauml M, Patton MM, Rhea D. A Qualitative Study of Teachers’ Perceptions of Increased Recess Time on Teaching, Learning, and Behavior. J Res Child Educ 2020; 34(4): 506-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2020.1718808

Farbo D, Clark L, Rhea D. The impact of play on overweight/obese children in elementary schools. [Oral Presentation] The 10th Conference on the Value of Play 2019 Mar 31-Aug 3; Clemson, S.C.

Farbo D, Rhea D. A pilot study examining body composition classification differences between body mass index and bioelectrical impedance analysis in children with high levels of physical activity. Front Pediatr 2021; 9: 1304. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.724053

Kabiri LS, Hernandez DC, Mitchell K. Reliability, Validity, and diagnostic value of a pediatric bioelectrical impedance analysis scale. Child Obes 2015; 11(5): 650-5. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2014.0156

McCarthy HD, Cole TJ, Fry T, Jebb SA, Prentice AM. Body fat reference curves for children. Int J Obes 2006; 30(4): 598-602. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803232

Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition Project. Child Obesity in Texas 2021 [Available from: https: //sph.uth.edu/research/centers/dell/resources/texas%20span%20overview%206.3.2021.pdf.

Lange SJ, Kompaniyets L, Freedman DS, Kraus EM, Porter R, Dnp, et al. Longitudinal trends in body mass index before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among persons aged 2-19 Years-United States, 2018-2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021; 70(37): 1278-83. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7037a3

Zemrani B, Gehri M, Masserey E, Knob C, Pellaton R. A hidden side of the COVID-19 pandemic in children: the double burden of undernutrition and overnutrition. International J Equity Health 2021; 20(1): 44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01390-w

Podnar H, Jurić P, Karuc J, Saez M, Barceló MA, Radman I, et al. Comparative effectiveness of school-based interventions targeting physical activity, physical fitness or sedentary behaviour on obesity prevention in 6-to 12-year-old children: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev 2021; 22(2): e13160. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13160

McLellan G, Arthur R, Donnelly S, Buchan DS. Segmented sedentary time and physical activity patterns throughout the week from wrist-worn ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers among children 7–12 years old. J Sport Health Sci 2020; 9(2): 179-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2019.02.005

Laurson KR, Eisenmann JC, Welk GJ. Body fat percentile curves for U.S. children and adolescents. Am J Prev Med 2011; 41(4, Supplement 2): S87-S92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2011.06.044

Farooq MA, Parkinson KN, Adamson AJ, Pearce MS, Reilly JK, Hughes AR, et al. Timing of the decline in physical activity in childhood and adolescence: Gateshead Millennium Cohort Study. Br J Sports Med 2018; 52(15): 1002-6. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096933

Gállego Suárez C, Singer BH, Gebremariam A, Lee JM, Singer K. The relationship between adiposity and bone density in U.S. children and adolescents. PLOS One 2017; 12(7): e0181587. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181587

Chen X, Cisse-Egbuonye N, Spears EC, Mkuu R, McKyer ELJ. Children’s healthy eating habits and parents’ socio-demographic characteristics in rural Texas, USA. Health Educ J 2018; 77(4): 444-57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896917752014

Chavez RC, Nam EW. School-based obesity prevention interventions in Latin America: A systematic review. Rev Saude Publica 2020; 54(0): 110. https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2020054002038

Downloads

Published

2022-05-23

How to Cite

Farbo, D. J., & Rhea, D. J. (2022). The Effects of a Yearlong Recess Intervention on Body Fat Shifts in Elementary-Aged Children. International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 11(2), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4247.2022.11.02.1

Issue

Section

General Articles