Pedometer-determined physical activity patterns of fourth and fifth grade school children

The purpose of this study was to describe the daily pedometer-determined Physical Activity (PA) patterns of 4th and 5th grade children during the segmented school week (i.e., recess, Physical Education, lunchtime, school day, outside of school, weekdays, and weekends). Eight hundred and twenty-nine children from six Southwestern United States elementary schools participated by wearing pedometers (Yamax Digiwalker SW-200) for seven consecutive days (5 school days and two weekend days). Students recorded their steps at arrival and departure from school as well as before and after Physical Edcuation, recess, and lunchtime. They used a recording sheet independently over the weekend. Results showed that boys took significantly more total steps/weekday than girls, outside of school steps, steps during lunchtime, steps during recess, and steps during school. During Physical Education, both boys and girls accumulated a similar number of steps. For boys, lunchtime represented the largest single source of daily PA (13.4%) obtained during school, followed by PE (12.7%) and recess (9.5%). For girls Physical Education was the largest single source (14.3%), followed by lunchtime (11.7%) and recess (8.3%). Significant differences were also found across ethnicity/racial groups, Body Mass Index cut points, and schools. A similar number of steps were also accumulated on weekend days. This study is critical, as it was the first with a large diverse sample investigating students' PA patterns across various activity segments. The daily steps/day patterns of fourth and fifth grade children are variable; however, an understanding of the contributions of the in-school segments can serve as baseline measures for practitioner and researchers to use in school based PA interventions.