Effect of Extra-curricular Sports Activities After School on Primary School Children's Academic Performance

Effect of Extra-curricular Sports Activities After School on Primary School Children's Academic Performance in China: A Non-inferiority Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

The process of urbanization and the rapid development of information technology have greatly reduced the space and time available for children's outdoor activities. In this study, we expect to study the effects of the addition of physical education classes after school on the academic performance, mental health, physical fitness, and myopia among primary school children.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Extra-curricular Sports
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Extra-curricular sports

Detailed Description

Urbanization has led to a shrinking of the space suitable for residential activities and a dramatic change in the behavioural patterns, which is particularly evident in children. The spread and development of information technology has reduced children's time for physical activity. Previous studies have found that physical activity is essential for the growth and development of adolescents, preventing and reducing obesity, slowing the development of myopia, and is closely linked to mental health. However, parents in China are concerned that increased outdoor activity will reduce the amount of time spent studying and affect academic performance. Currently, there is a lack of strong evidence on the impact of physical activity on academic performance. In this study, we propose to provide after-school physical education classes for students in primary schools in a rapidly urbanizing area, and assess the effects of the intervention on children's academic performance, physical fitness, myopia, and mental health to provide evidence for the development of educational programs and arrangements for after-school activities.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 2032
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Jiangxi
    • Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China, 342300
      • Yudu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 7 years to 11 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Pupils in the third and fourth grades of primary schools in Yudu County;
2. Voluntary participation in this study with consent and informed consent signed by guardians.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Exclusion criteria for school

  1. Lack of a third or fourth grade;
  2. Average class size less than 30 students;
  3. No conditions for two classes to play sports at the same time.
• Exclusion criteria for students 4. Two or more days Monday to Friday not available to participate in studies under the project programme; 5. Unsuitability for health or physical reasons to participate in sports activities; 6. Refusal to sign informed consent.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Extra sports group; The group follows the schedule of school teaching programme. Extra-curricular sports classes will be organized and provided in this group of schools in the afternoon after school until 6 p.m. (Monday to Friday).	Behavioral: Extra-curricular sports; The group follows the schedule of school teaching programme. Extra-curricular sports classes will be organized and provided in this group of schools in the afternoon after school until 6 p.m. (Monday to Friday).
No Intervention: Conventional group; The group follows the schedule of school teaching programme. Students arrange their own after-school time after school.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mathematics test scores at the end of the first academic year	The test paper will follow the design principles of International Mathematics and science learning, and referring to the local unified examination papers of grade three and grade four, the unified examination questions are formulated to evaluate the students' learning in school	1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Combined physical fitness test score at the end of the first academic year	Total scores of physical fitness tests according to 2018 National Physical Fitness Survey Monitoring Programme	1 year
Incidence of myopia in the first school year	Spherical equivalent after mydriasis ≤ -0.5 D in either eye	1 year
Happiness Assessment at the end of the first academic year	Happiness score is rated by Chinese version of the WHO-5 including 5 items with ratings: 0, at no time-5, all of the time. The total raw score, ranging from 0 to 25, is multiplied by 4 to give the final score, with 0 representing the worst imaginable well-being and 100 representing the best imaginable well-being	1 year
Mathematics test scores at the end of the second school year	The test paper will follow the design principles of International Mathematics and science learning, and referring to the local unified examination papers of grade three and grade four, the unified examination questions are formulated to evaluate the students' learning in school	up to 2 years
Combined physical fitness test scores at the end of the second academic year	Total scores of physical fitness tests according to 2018 National Physical Fitness Survey Monitoring Programme	up to 2 years
Cumulative incidence of myopia over two school years	Spherical equivalent after mydriasis ≤ -0.5 D in either eye	up to 2 years
Happiness assessment at the second school year	Happiness score is rated by Chinese (September, 2007) version of the WHO-5 including 5 items with ratings: 0, at no time-5, all of the time. The total raw score, ranging from 0 to 25, is multiplied by 4 to give the final score, with 0 representing the worst imaginable well-being and 100 representing the best imaginable well-being	up to 2 years
Satisfaction assessment	Satisfaction of pupils in the intervention group with the addition of PE after school will be measured by a questionnaire which is designed by reaserchers.	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yangfa Zeng, Master, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• He M, Zeng J, Liu Y, Xu J, Pokharel GP, Ellwein LB. Refractive error and visual impairment in urban children in southern china. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2004 Mar;45(3):793-9. doi: 10.1167/iovs.03-1051.
• He M, Xiang F, Zeng Y, Mai J, Chen Q, Zhang J, Smith W, Rose K, Morgan IG. Effect of Time Spent Outdoors at School on the Development of Myopia Among Children in China: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2015 Sep 15;314(11):1142-8. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.10803.
• Nunes HEG, Silva DAS, Goncalves ECA. Prevalence and factors associated with stages of behavior change for physical activity in adolescents: a systematic review. World J Pediatr. 2017 Jun;13(3):202-209. doi: 10.1007/s12519-017-0027-4. Epub 2017 Mar 22.
• Cai Y, Zhu X, Wu X. Overweight, obesity, and screen-time viewing among Chinese school-aged children: National prevalence estimates from the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China-The Youth Study. J Sport Health Sci. 2017 Dec;6(4):404-409. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2017.09.002. Epub 2017 Sep 6.
• Gray C, Gibbons R, Larouche R, Sandseter EB, Bienenstock A, Brussoni M, Chabot G, Herrington S, Janssen I, Pickett W, Power M, Stanger N, Sampson M, Tremblay MS. What Is the Relationship between Outdoor Time and Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Physical Fitness in Children? A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Jun 8;12(6):6455-74. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120606455.
• Grgic J, Dumuid D, Bengoechea EG, Shrestha N, Bauman A, Olds T, Pedisic Z. Health outcomes associated with reallocations of time between sleep, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity: a systematic scoping review of isotemporal substitution studies. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2018 Jul 13;15(1):69. doi: 10.1186/s12966-018-0691-3.
• French AN, Morgan IG, Mitchell P, Rose KA. Risk factors for incident myopia in Australian schoolchildren: the Sydney adolescent vascular and eye study. Ophthalmology. 2013 Oct;120(10):2100-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2013.02.035. Epub 2013 May 11.
• Biddle SJ, Asare M. Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: a review of reviews. Br J Sports Med. 2011 Sep;45(11):886-95. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2011-090185. Epub 2011 Aug 1.
• Alvarez-Bueno C, Pesce C, Cavero-Redondo I, Sanchez-Lopez M, Garrido-Miguel M, Martinez-Vizcaino V. Academic Achievement and Physical Activity: A Meta-analysis. Pediatrics. 2017 Dec;140(6):e20171498. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-1498.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 14, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 20, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 2, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 7, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): October 14, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 26, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2022
• Last Verified: April 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; academic performance
• Other Study ID Numbers: SYSU-OPH-008

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No