Associations Between State Laws Governing Recess Policy with Children's Physical Activity and Health.
Kimberly A Clevenger, Frank M Perna, Richard P Moser and 1 others
PMID 35266151WHAT IT FOUND
Children in states with recess policies had higher odds of daily physical activity and making friends in a 2018 snapshot.
However, tracking changes over time showed no significant impact of implementing these policies on activity, health, or school attendance.
Key findings
01In the 2018 cross-sectional analysis, children in states with recess policies had 2.82 times higher odds of being physically active every day and 2.88 times higher odds of having no difficulty making or keeping friends compared to those in states without such policies.
02The difference-in-differences analysis from 2003 to 2011/2012 found no significant changes in the odds of being physically active, having optimal health, or having no school absences in states that implemented recess policies compared to those that did not.
03A sensitivity analysis in the difference-in-differences model revealed that the odds of schools contacting parents more than once about problems were 33% higher in states with recess policies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
All child outcomes were parent-reported, which may introduce bias. The study could not assess the actual implementation or adherence to state policies at the school level. Policies were generally weakly worded, lacking specific components like professional development for supervisors or mandatory time requirements, which may explain the lack of effect in the longitudinal analysis. The difference-in-differences analysis was limited to the 2003-2012 period due to changes in survey methodology, so it did not capture the impact of more recent, potentially stronger policies. The study did not include information on school type (public vs. private) or grade level.
Declared interests
Research support was provided by the National Cancer Institute and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that implementing a state recess policy will reliably improve children's physical activity or health outcomes. The longitudinal analysis showed no significant effect, and the positive associations found in the 2018 snapshot were not replicated when tracking changes over time, suggesting that weak or non-specific policies may have little impact.