Heart rate, energy expenditure, and affective responses from children participating in trampoline park sessions compared with traditional extra-curricular sports clubs

The Impact of the Daily Mile™ on School Pupils' Fitness, Cognition, and Wellbeing: Findings From Longer Term Participation

Background

School based running programmes, such as The Daily Mile™, positively impact pupils' physical health, however, there is limited evidence on psychological health. Additionally, current evidence is mostly limited to examining the acute impact. The present study examined the longer term impact of running programmes on pupil cognition, wellbeing, and fitness.

Method

Data from 6,908 school pupils (mean age 10.2 ± 0.7 years), who were participating in a citizen science project, was examined. Class teachers provided information about participation in school based running programmes. Participants completed computer-based tasks of inhibition, verbal and visual-spatial working memory, as well as the Children's Feeling scale and Felt arousal scale to determine subjective wellbeing. A multistage 20-m shuttle run test was used to estimate fitness.

Results

From our total sample of 6,908 school pupils, 474 participants had been taking part in a running programme for <2 months (Shorter term participation); 1,004 participants had Longer Term participation (>3 months); and 5,430 did not take part in a running programme. The Longer Term participation group had higher fitness levels than both other groups and this remained significant when adjusted for age, sex and SES. Moderated regression analysis found that for the Shorter Term participation group, higher shuttle distance was associated with better visual-spatial working memory. Effect sizes were small though.

Conclusion

We identified small and selective positive impact of participation in school based running programmes on fitness and cognition. While no long term benefit was identified for cognition or wellbeing, the impact on fitness and short term benefit suggest schools should consider participation.

A citizen science study of short physical activity breaks at school: improvements in cognition and wellbeing with self-paced activity

BACKGROUND

School-based physical activity and running programmes, such as The Daily Mile™, are increasing in popularity globally. The aim of this research was to examine the acute impact of such classroom physical activity breaks on cognition and affective wellbeing.

METHODS

A total of 5463 school pupils from 332 schools took part in a citizen science project with a repeated measures design. They completed tasks of cognition (inhibition, verbal, and visuo-spatial working memory) and the Children's Feeling Scale and Felt Arousal Scale before and after three different outdoor activities: a classroom break of 15 min of self-paced activity, a near maximal exhaustion activity (the bleep test), and a no-exercise control group where pupils sat or stood outside. Wellbeing and fitness were examined as mediators of the relationship between outdoor activity and cognition.

RESULTS

Fifteen minutes of self-paced outdoor activity was beneficial for pupils' cognition and wellbeing in comparison to both other activities (Cohen's d effect sizes ranging from 0.04 to 0.22; small). The relationship with cognition was not mediated by participants' fitness level and was only partially mediated by wellbeing. Change scores for alertness were higher after the bleep test compared to the control activity but similar for all other outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Taking a break from the classroom to complete 15 min of self-paced physical activity should be considered a worthwhile activity by class teachers, school management, and policymakers. Additionally, more intense physical activity should not be considered to be detrimental.

A mixed-studies systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based interventions to promote physical activity and/or reduce sedentary time in children

PURPOSE

The aim of this mixed-studies systematic review was to ascertain the effectiveness of school-based interventions in increasing physical activity (PA) and/or reducing sedentary time (ST) in children aged 5-11 years, as well as to explore their effectiveness in relation to categories of the theory of expanded, extended, and enhanced opportunity (TEO).

METHODS

Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 5 databases were searched using predefined search terms. Following title and abstract screening of 1115 records, the removal of duplicates (n = 584) and articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria agreed to a priori (n = 419) resulted in 112 records that were full-text screened. Two independent reviewers subsequently used the mixed-methods appraisal tool to assess the methodological quality of 57 full-text studies that met the inclusion criteria after full-text screening. The interventions were summarised using the TIDierR checklist and TEO. The strength of evidence was determined using a 5-level rating system utilising a published decision tree.

RESULTS

Overall evidence ratings for interventions implemented within school settings were: no evidence of effects on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and inconclusive evidence of effects on sedentary time. In relation to the TEO, expansion of PA appeared to be the most promising intervention type for MVPA, with moderate evidence of effect, whereas extension and enhancement of PA opportunity demonstrated no evidence of effect. A critical issue of possible compensatory behavior was identified by analysis of intervention effect in relation to PA measurement duration; when studies measured changes in PA during the actual intervention, there was moderate evidence of effect, whereas those that measured changes in PA during the school day presented inconclusive evidence of effect, and those that measured changes in PA over a whole day yielded no evidence of effect. Two meta-analyses of those studies using a whole-day accelerometer measure for MVPA or ST showed a significant but moderate effect for MVPA (effect size = 0.51; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.02-0.99) and a large but nonsignificant effect for ST (effect size = 1.15; 95%CI: -1.03 to 3.33); both meta-analyses demonstrated low precision, considerable inconsistency, and high heterogeneity.

CONCLUSION

The findings have important implications for future intervention research in terms of intervention design, implementation, and evaluation.

Trampoline Versus Resistance Training in Young Adults: Effects on Knee Muscles Strength and Balance

Purpose: Trampoline parks are becoming popular in many countries, providing recreational facilities for children and adults. This study investigated the effects of trampoline training on knee muscles strength and balance in young adults. Methods: Twenty-six participants (14 males, 12 females) were randomized into trampoline training (TT) and resistance training (RT) groups to undergo a 6-week supervised intervention program (2 × 30 min per week). TT group performed basic trampoline exercises while the RT group performed resistance training targeting lower extremities muscles. Peak knee extension and flexion torque, postural sway characteristics, and Y balance test (YBT) performance were evaluated before and after the intervention. A mixed model analysis of variance (group × time) was applied. Results: After training there were significant improvements in knee extension torque (mean difference_post-pre [95% CI], TT: 0.27 [0.00, 0.54] N∙m/kg, RT: 0.31 [0.09,0.54] N∙m/kg, p = .001), knee flexion torque (TT: 0.25 [0.17,0.33] N∙m/kg, RT: 0.21 [0.08,0.34] N∙m/kg, p < .001), and dynamic balance (YBT composite scores, mean difference_post-pre [95% CI], TT: 4.9 [-0.3, 10.2]%, RT: 5.2 [2.4,8.0]%, p = .001). No difference between groups was found. Conclusion: Trampoline training can be as effective as resistance training for improving knee muscles strength and dynamic balance in young men and women.