Effects of a 2-year school-based daily physical activity intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness: The Sogndal school-intervention study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe changes in children's cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) following a school-based physical activity (PA) intervention. In total, 259 children (age 9.3±0.3 years) were invited to participate, of whom 256 participated. The children from the intervention school (63 boys, 62 girls) carried out 60-min PA over 2 school years. The children from the control school (62 boys, 69 girls) had the regular curriculum-defined amount of physical education in school, i.e. 45min twice weekly. One hundred and eighty-eight children (73.4%) successfully completed both the baseline and the post-intervention peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) test. VO2peak was measured directly during a continuous progressive treadmill protocol where the children ran until exhaustion. The children from the intervention school increased their mean VO2peak (95% confidence interval) 3.6 (2.5-4.6)mL/kg/min more than the children from the control school. This VO2peak value was adjusted for both sex and baseline VO2peak. Boys and girls demonstrated similar VO2peak responses. The intervention, primarily carried out at a moderate intensity, had the biggest impact in children with low initial CRF levels. In conclusion, a 2-year school-based 60-min daily PA intervention significantly improved CRF in children. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.