RT journal article
T1 Physical activity levels during physical education in Spanish children
A1 Huertas-Delgado, Francisco Javier
A1 Segura Jiménez, Víctor
A1 Ávila-García, Manuel
A1 Cardon, Greet
A1 Tercedor, Pablo
A2 Didáctica de la Educación FísicaPlástica y Musical
K1 Children
K1 moderate-to-vigorous
K1 physical activity
K1 physical education
K1 Spain
AB Introduction:Physical education (PE) can contribute to total daily physical activity (PA) among children. In consequence, the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport has developed 16 teaching units focused on increasing PA levels during PE lessons, called Unidades Didacticas Activas (UDA; Active Teaching Units).Objectives:The goal of this study was to compare whether children participating in UDA lessons spent more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than children participating in traditional lessons.Design:Quasi-experimental design.Methods:A total of 355 children (8-9 years old, 53.9% boys) from 7 schools in Granada participated in the study. Students were divided into two groups: a traditional PE group (n = 204) and a UDA group (n = 151). Time spent in MVPA was assessed using tri-axial accelerometers.Results:Time spent in MVPA was higher in the group engaged in the UDA lessons compared to the group that received traditional lessons (13.6 vs 15.2 minutes, p = .021, Standard Error = 0.27). The percentage of children who met international MVPA recommendations was similar for both groups (UDAs: 12.7% and traditional: 13.2%, p = .504).Conclusions:UDA lessons and their methodology favoured greater participation in MVPA compared to a traditional PE approach. It will be important to change PE methodology (including duration, frequency and focus) to achieve MVPA goals.
PB SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
SN 0017-8969
YR 2021
FD 2021-02
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/24764
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/24764
LA eng
NO The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [DEP2015-63988-R] and FJHD was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport [CAST17/00072].
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 12-nov-2026