Effectiveness of a Multicomponent Intervention to Promote Physical Activity Levels During the School Day (MOVESCHOOL)

Effectiveness of a Multicomponent Intervention to Promote Physical Activity Levels During the School Day (MOVESCHOOL)

Study based a multicomponent school-based intervention during the school-day (i.e., Physically active learning, active breaks, and active recess) on Physical Activity, health, educational, and cognition outcomes in adolescents.

MOVESCHOOLS is a quasi-experimental study coordinated by fully qualified researchers in physical activity and sport sciences from two universities [University of Cadiz (UCA) and University of Extremadura (UEX), Spain]. This study is aimed at year 1 to year 3 from Secondary Education students (11-16 years old), belonging to 10 schools in Spain (5 schools in Cadiz and 5 schools in Caceres). The schools will be assigned to a control group (n = 5 schools and 400 students) and an intervention group (n = 5 schools and 400 students). The intervention will last 6 months, and will consist of three components:

1. Inclusion of a physically active classes per week.
2. Development of two daily active breaks of 5 minutes duration.
3. Implementation of daily active recesses.

Before and after the intervention, Physical Activity and sedentary time will be assessed by accelerometry, health-related fitness levels by field tests, body composition parameters by anthropometry, academic performance by school grades, positive health (quality of life and self-perception of health) by questionnaire, and cognitive parameters (executive functions and mathematical fluency) by specific cognition tests. In weeks 8 and 16, Physical Activity and sedentary time will also be evaluated as intermediate measures.

At the end of the intervention the researchers will determine the changes of the main outcome variables. Likewise, the main hypotheses raised will be:

1. Students belonging to the experimental group will improve physical activity and will decrease sedentary time during the school-day when comparing to the students belonging to the control group.
2. Students belonging to the experimental group will result in improved in physical and psychological health markers when comparing to the students belonging to the control group.
3. Students belonging to the experimental group will result in improved academic indicators and cognitive markers when comparing to the students belonging to the control group.
4. Students belonging to the experimental group will improve school climate and motivational variables in academic classes compared to students belonging to the control group.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adolescents in 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of ESO.
• Adolescents with informed consent signed by the family/guardian.
• Schools with at least 80 students enrolled in 1st, 2nd and 3rd ESO.
• Schools belonging to the regions of Cáceres and Cádiz.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Adolescents with any physical disability or health condition that may limit physical activity levels.
• Schools participating in any other physical activity or health promotion program.