Impact of Weight Status on the Cardiopulmonary Fitness Outcome of a School-Based Physical Activity Program.
Rena C Moon, Solveig A Cunningham, Julie Gazmararian
PMID 32794603WHAT IT FOUND
A school-based physical activity program did not improve fourth-graders' BMI or aerobic fitness compared with control schools.
Overweight and obese children improved less in fitness than normal-weight peers, regardless of program.
Key findings
01The school physical activity program was not significantly associated with change in raw BMI, regardless of children's starting weight.
02After adjustment for sex, starting weight, and baseline PACER score, program students improved similarly to control students on the fitness test.
03Overweight and obese children showed less improvement in average monthly PACER scores than normal-weight peers, regardless of program participation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Schools were not randomly assigned, so differences between program and control schools could explain the results. Program and control schools differed in school race/ethnicity and free- or reduced-price lunch proportions. 658 students were excluded for missing baseline age, height, or weight, and 406 more were excluded for implausible values. Students with missing or implausible values differed by school characteristics. Control students had higher baseline PACER scores because their baseline was measured later. Control teachers were paid $200 for data collection, while program teachers were not, and data completeness was better in control schools. Race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status were measured at school level, not for each student. The follow-up periods differed, 7 months for program schools and 4 months for control schools.
Declared interests
All authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that physical activity does not help children. It shows that this non-randomized school program, which included staff training, resources, and added activity, did not produce greater BMI or PACER changes than control schools, so causal conclusions are limited.