Effects of an Active Break Program at Primary School (Activa-Mente)

Effects of an Active Break Program at School on Physical Activity and On-task Behavior in Children From 6 to 12 Years Old

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of an active break program at school on physical activity levels and enjoyment, and on-task behavior in children.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Health Behavior; Behavior, Child
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Activa-Mente

Detailed Description

The protocol will include third and fourth-grade students (children aged 8 to 10 years) from elementary schools in the Valparaíso Region, Chile. Four school classes from two schools (intervention and control school) will be included. The intervention school will carry out the active break program, ACTIVA-MENTE This program consists of the application of a 4-and-a-half-minute video with moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity. These breaks will take place 6 times a day in classes for 6 weeks.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Chile
  • Valparaíso, Chile
    • Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 8 years to 10 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Schoolchildren aged 8 to 10 years old (third to fourth grade of primary education).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children with school attendance lower than 90 per cent (excluded from data analysis).
• Any medical condition that impedes physical activity breaks.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Activa-Mente (Intervention); The active break program involves the presentation of video (4.5 min) with moderate-to-vigorous physical activities. These active breaks will be performed 6 times per day during 6 weeks.	Behavioral: Activa-Mente; Active break program
No Intervention: Control group; This group of students will not be exposed to the intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical activity	Physical activity will be measured with waist-worn ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers for seven days. Physical activity intensities will be derived from the accelerometer counts. Evenson cut points will be used to classify counts into physical activity intensities. Physical activity will be classified as light, moderate-to-vigorous and total physical activity.	6 weeks
On-task behavior	The Direct Behaviour Rating Scale will be used to measure on-task behavior at the individual level. This scale measures academically engaged, respectful and disruptive behavior. For each domain, the scale uses a per cent grading system in which 0% indicates 'never' while 100% indicates 'always'. At the group level, the Classroom Behaviour and Assets Survey will be used teachers who will be asked to indicate the proportion of the class displaying on-task behavior as defined by the individual behavior tool. Response options include: 0 (0 students), 1 (1-2 students), 2 (a few students), 3 (about ¼ of the class), 4 (about ½ of the class), 5 (about ¾ of the class), 6 (most of the class), and 7 (all of the class).	6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical activity enjoyment	The Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) will be used to measure enjoyment during the active breaks. Each of the 14 items of this instrument includes a Likert-type scale that ranges from 1 (Disagree a lot) to 5 (Agree a lot).	6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidad de La Frontera
• Collaborators: Playa Ancha University; Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educacion
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tomas Reyes, PhD, Playa Ancha University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 20, 2023
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 31, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 31, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): June 3, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 1, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 27, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; physical activity enjoyment; on-task behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: UPLA-005-2022

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: The anonymized and raw data supporting the conclusions of this study will be made available by the principal investigator, upon reasonable request.

Drug and device information, study documents

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