Correlates of children's physical activity during physical education classes

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of correlates on physical activity (PA) during physical education (PE). Method: One hundred and ninety children (11.2 ± 0.8 y, 1.5 ± 0.1 m, 37.7 ± 8.3 kg) of 12 classes participated. Children were asked to wear an accelerometer for seven days. Teachers filled in a questionnaire to collect data about correlates of PA during PE (i.e. sex, weight, age of children, daily PA of the children, class size, PA behavior and formation of the teacher and size of gym). Correlates for moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) during PE were determined using multifactor linear regression analysis. Results Fifty-three percent of the variability of MVPA during PE was explained by the investigated correlates. Apart from individual correlates (sex, weight, age), PE taught in small classes and large gyms by a PE specialist and a high overall PA of the child had independent positive effects on MVPA during PE. Conclusion: The results underline the importance of small PE classes taught by specialized PE teachers in large gyms and the increase of overall PA of children for effective future intervention studies and for political discussion focusing on increasing PA during PE.