Impact of Promoting Lifestyle Activity for Youth (PLAY) on children's physical activity

Pangrazi, R.P., Beighle, A., Vehige, T. and Vack, C. (2003). Impact of Promoting Lifestyle Activity for Youth (PLAY) on children's physical activity. Journal of School Health, 73 (8), 317- 321

Target Group: Children from Grades 4 - 6

Program Name: PLAY (Promoting Lifestyle Activity for Youth)

Location: Arizona

Study Objective: The Arizona Department of Health Services implemented the Promoting Lifestyle Activity for Youth (PLAY) program. PLAY teaches active lifestyle habits to children in grades four to six and encourages them to accumulate 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day .

Study Design: Treatment-Control, Post-Measurement Design

Intervention or Program:

• Over 600 fourth graders from 35 schools were divided into the following four groups: PLAY & PE , PE only, PLAY only, and no treatment.
• The PLAY intervention lasted 12 weeks and was implemented by the students' classroom teacher.
• Throughout the 12-week intervention teachers led students in 15-minute physical activity breaks each day.
• In the first week teachers stressed the importance of physical activity and play behaviour
• Walking was the minimum expected level of physical activity expected, children chose a pace that was comfortable for them (a rigorous pace was not expected or required and the importance of physical activity was frequently discussed
• For the next three weeks teachers introduced a variety of physically active games and activities.
• Activities/games such as exercise tag and medic tag were taught.
• A total of 15 games were introduced
• During the remaining 8 weeks, teachers encouraged students to achieve 30 minutes of daily physical activity independent of the teacher and record their activity levels.
• Types of activity available to the students outside of class were discussed
• Students recorded their physical activity in their PLAY log sheet
• Students were asked to record their previous days activities by the classroom teacher

Impact on Physical Activity:

• Pedometers measured the impact of the intervention during a three-week period after completion of the PLAY program.
• Results showed that students involved in the PLAY program had increased physical activity levels, especially girls. Girls in the PE & PLAY group had 2277, girls in the PLAY only group had 1484 and girls in the PE only group had 1954 more steps per day than the no treatment group.
• Girls in the PE & PLAY and PE only groups had significantly higher step counts than girls in the no treatment group.
• Girls in the PE & PLAY group were the most active.
• No significant differences in steps were observed for boys across treatment groups.
• The treatment had no effect on BMI, which is probably due to the brief length of the intervention and the fact that children are growing and BMI increases with age.

Implications for Practitioners:

Identifying potential opportunities for children to be active may spark interests. Small bouts of physical activity incorporated into daily routines can start a trend towards activity.

Girls in particular responded well to this program and encouragement.

Author's Email: Robert Pangrazi pangrazi@asu.edu