Purposeful Play: The Impact Of Increased Unstructured Play On Fitness Levels In School-Aged Children

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the effectiveness of a multiple recess school intervention on fitness in school-aged children. Students grades 3-5 participating in the LiiNK Project and receiving multiple recesses per day for a total of 60 minutes of recess per school day (N= 117) were compared to students grades 3-5 at a control school (N= 290), who received one 20 minute recess break per day. Students’ fitness levels were assessed using the FitnessGram, a reliable and validated fitness testing battery for school aged children, including aerobic capacity, curl ups, pushups, trunk flexibility, and BMI assessments. Results indicated that intervention school students performed significantly better than control school students in aerobic capacity and abdominal strength and endurance assessments, but not in upper body strength and endurance or flexibility assessments. Results did not support the hypothesis that intervention students would have lower BMI scores than control school students, as a significant difference was found in the opposite direction. Researchers recommend future research to use students’ body fat percentage and muscle mass to analyze body composition, as BMI does not decipher between muscle and fat mass. Future research should also standardize testing measurements and protocols between schools, use a more reliable flexibility assessment, and increase sample size. Results from this study are promising for promoting similar interventions to help reverse current trends of obesity by combatting excessive sedentary time and physical inactivity in school.