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The implementation of a pilot playground markings project in four Australian primary schools
Author(s) -
Kelly Angela,
Arjunan Punitha,
Ploeg Hidde P.,
Rissel Chris,
Borg Janelle,
Ming Wen Li
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1071/he12183
Subject(s) - physical activity , context (archaeology) , intervention (counseling) , childhood obesity , data collection , health promotion , population health , medical education , overweight , psychology , medicine , public health , physical therapy , obesity , nursing , geography , sociology , social science , archaeology
Issue addressed Increasing childhood overweight and obesity rates need strategies that promote and engage children in more physical activity and school is one setting for this. This pilot project aimed to determine if coloured playground markings are an effective strategy, in the Australian context, to increase students' physical activity during school break times in primary schools. Methods Four schools participated, two as intervention schools and two as control schools. A combination of data collection methods were used, including accelerometers on students, playground observations and a teacher survey. Results The accelerometer and observation data did not show an improvement in the physical activity levels of the intervention students compared to the control students. The teacher survey was positive in all aspects of the project implementation. Observations suggest that most students were active in large grass areas rather than around the playground markings. Conclusion Based on our data, it is unclear whether playground markings are an effective intervention to increase physical activity in the school setting. The amount of playing space available appears to influence the use of the playground markings. So what? In some large playgrounds, markings may not be an effective intervention to increase physical activity. Further research in small inner urban schools is needed to determine the effectiveness of this strategy in enhancing physical activity levels among Australian school students