Active School. A School-based Intervention to Increase Childrens Daily Physical Activity Level.

Active School. A School-based Intervention to Increase Childrens Daily Physical Activity and Its Effect on Childrens Self-regulation

This study seeks to explore whether increased physical activity in school affects children's executive function, aerobic Fitness and childrens self-regulation. The "Active school" study was a 10-month randomized controlled trial. The sample included 449 children (10-11 years old) in five intervention and four control schools. The weekly interventions were 2×45 minutes physically active academic lessons, 5×10 minutes physically active breaks, and 5×10 minutes physically active homework. Aerobic fitness was measured using a 10-minute interval running test. Executive function was tested using four cognitive tests (Stroop, verbal fluency, digit span, and Trail Making). A composite score for executive function was computed and used in analyses.

Self-regulation was measured by the Child Behavior Rating Scale.

Inclusion Criteria:

• all children attending 5th grade at the included schools in Stavanger, Norway during the school-year 2014/2015.

Exclusion Criteria:

• not able to participate in daily physical activity and physical education and complete the cognitive tests.