Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 56, Issue 2, February 2013, Pages 152-161
Preventive Medicine

Review
A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions designed to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school physical education lessons

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.12.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

Physical education (PE) that allows students to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) can play an important role in health promotion. Unfortunately, MVPA levels in PE lessons are often very low. In this review, we aimed to determine the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase the proportion of PE lesson time that students spend in MVPA.

Methods

In March 2012, we searched electronic databases for intervention studies that were conducted in primary or secondary schools and measured the proportion of lesson time students spent in MVPA. We assessed risk of bias, extracted data, and conducted meta-analyses to determine intervention effectiveness.

Results

From an initial pool of 12,124 non-duplicate records, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. Students in intervention conditions spent 24% more lesson time in MVPA compared with students in usual practice conditions (standardized mean difference = 0.62).

Conclusions

Given the small number of studies, moderate-to-high risk of bias, and the heterogeneity of results, caution is warranted regarding the strength of available evidence. However, this review indicates that interventions can increase the proportion of time students spend in MVPA during PE lessons. As most children and adolescents participate in PE, these interventions could lead to substantial public health benefits.

Highlights

► We reviewed interventions targeting physical activity in school physical education. ► 14 studies were included in the review, 13 in the meta-analysis. ► Intervention condition students spent 24% more lesson time active than controls. ► Interventions can increase physical activity in school physical education lessons.

Section snippets

Objectives

Our aim was to systematically review the evidence related to interventions designed to increase active learning time during school PE lessons. Our objectives were to: (a) describe the nature of the interventions that have been undertaken (i.e., the theories, strategies, or approaches researchers have used to design their interventions); and (b) conduct meta-analyses to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.

Eligibility criteria

Included studies sampled students from PE classes in primary schools (i.e., elementary) or secondary schools (i.e., high school). Pre-school or post-secondary institution samples were excluded.

Studies must have tested an intervention, namely a deliberate attempt to implement a change to usual teaching practice in order to increase the proportion of PE lesson time spent in MVPA. Studies focusing on a comparison of conditions, but not an intervention, were excluded. For example, a study comparing

Study selection

Study selection results are detailed in Fig. 1. From an initial pool of 12,124 non-duplicate records, screening of titles and abstracts lead to 109 full-text articles read. From these, 14 articles met the inclusion criteria.

Study characteristics

Study characteristics can be viewed in Table 1. Publication dates ranged from 1991 to 2008. Ten studies were conducted in the USA, two in the UK, one in Belgium and one in Australia. The number of schools involved in each study ranged from n = 1 (in seven studies) to n = 96 (

Summary of evidence

The aim of our study was to systematically review the evidence related to interventions designed to increase students' MVPA within PE lessons. Overall, interventions were associated with 24% more active learning time compared with usual practice (10% more of total lesson time spent in MVPA). Effective intervention strategies included teacher professional learning focusing on class organization, management and instruction, and supplementing usual PE lessons with high-intensity activity (i.e.,

Funding

This study was funded by the University of Western Sydney Research Grants Scheme (Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine).

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest associated with this study.

References (64)

  • A. Bandura

    Social Learning Theory

    (1977)
  • U. Bronfenbrenner

    The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design

    (1979)
  • Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

    School health guidelines to promote healthy eating and physical activity

    Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep.

    (2011)
  • N.L.D. Chatzisarantis et al.

    Effects of an intervention based on self-determination theory on self-reported leisure-time physical activity participation

    Psychol. Health

    (2008)
  • S.H. Cheon et al.

    Experimentally based, longitudinally designed, teacher-focused intervention to help physical education teachers be more autonomy supportive toward their students

    J. Sport. Exerc. Psychol.

    (2012)
  • D. Crawford

    The Future of Sport in Australia

    (2009)
  • E.L. Deci et al.

    Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior

    (1985)
  • E.L. Deci et al.

    Motivation and education: the self-determination perspective

    J. Educ. Psychol.

    (1991)
  • R.K. Dishman et al.

    Physical self-concept and self-esteem mediate cross-sectional relations of physical activity and sport participation with depression symptoms among adolescent girls

    Health Psychol.

    (2006)
  • M. Dobbins et al.

    School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6–18

    Cochrane Database Syst. Rev.

    (2009)
  • J.L. Duda

    Maximizing motivation in sport and physical education among children and adolescents: the case for greater task involvement

    Quest

    (1996)
  • D. Dudley et al.

    A systematic review of the effectiveness of physical education and school sport interventions targeting physical activity, movement skills and enjoyment of physical activity

    Eur. Phys. Educ. Rev.

    (2011)
  • M. Egger et al.

    Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test

    Br. Med. J.

    (1997)
  • S. Fairclough et al.

    Improving health-enhancing physical activity in girls' physical education

    Health Educ. Res.

    (2005)
  • S. Fairclough et al.

    Physical activity levels in middle and high school physical education: a review

    Pediatr. Exerc. Sci.

    (2005)
  • S.J. Fairclough et al.

    A review of physical activity levels during elementary school physical education

    J. Teach. Phys. Educ.

    (2006)
  • D. Gallahue et al.

    Understanding Motor Development: Infants, Children, Adolescents, Adults

    (2006)
  • L.L. Hardy et al.

    NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS): Full Report

    (2010)
  • J.P.T. Higgins et al.

    Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.1.0

    (2011)
  • J.P.T. Higgins et al.

    Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses

    Br. Med. J.

    (2003)
  • A. Ignico et al.

    The effects of an intervention strategy on children's heart rates and skill performance

    Early Child Dev. Care

    (2006)
  • S. Kriemler et al.

    Effect of school based physical activity programme (KISS) on fitness and adiposity in primary schoolchildren: cluster randomised controlled trial

    Br. Med. J.

    (2010)
  • Cited by (315)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text