There was some evidence that school-based physical activity interventions had a positive impact on four of the nine outcome measures .
Specifically positive effects were observed for duration of physical activity , television viewing , VO2 max , and blood cholesterol .
Generally , school-based interventions had little effect on physical activity rates , systolic and diastolic blood pressure , BMI , and pulse rate .
At a minimum , a combination of printed educational material s and changes to the school curriculum that promote physical activity result ed in positive effects .
Few changes in outcomes were observed in this up date with the exception of blood cholesterol and physical activity rates .
For example blood cholesterol was no longer positively impacted upon by school-based physical activity interventions .
The evidence suggests the ongoing implementation of school-based physical activity interventions at this time , given the positive effects on behavior and one physical health status measure .
BACKGROUND The World Health Organization ( WHO ) estimates that 1.9 million deaths worldwide are attributable to physical inactivity and at least 2.6 million deaths are a result of being overweight or obese .
In addition , WHO estimates that physical inactivity causes 10 % to 16 % of cases each of breast cancer , colon , and rectal cancers as well as type 2 diabetes , and 22 % of coronary heart disease and the burden of these and other chronic diseases has rapidly increased in recent decades .
OBJECTIVES The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence of the effectiveness of school-based interventions in promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents .
An investigation of the effects of daily physical activity on the health of primary school students in South Australia.
Studies of the health effects of a daily physical activity programme have been carried out in 10-year-old school children in Adelaide , South Australia . In the first phase ( 1978 ) observations on endurance fitness , four skin folds , blood pressure and blood lipids were made before and after a r and omized trial over a period of 14 weeks . Comparisons were made on over 500 children drawn from classes in seven Primary schools involved in an endurance fitness programme ( 1 1/4 hours per day ) , a skill programme and the previous physical education programme ( controls ) .  The fitness group experienced significant gains in physical work capacity ( PWC ) and showed significant decreases in body fat compared to the other two groups . No significant differences were observed in plasma cholesterol , triglycerides and HDL cholesterol . Subsequently in the second phase ( 1980 ) observations were made on a group of 216 10-year-old children who had already experienced two years of the physical activity programme adopted after phase one . Comparison with the observations in the 10-year-old children in 1978 made prior to the intervention revealed significantly smaller skin folds and greater PWC , with lower blood pressure reaching statistical significance for diastolic pressure in boys . The findings suggest beneficial effects on health of daily physical activity programmes within existing primary school curricula . There was no evidence of any loss of academic performance as measured by arithmetic and reading tests in spite of 45 - 60 minutes ' loss of formal teaching time each day
There was some evidence that school-based physical activity interventions had a positive impact on four of the nine outcome measures .
Specifically positive effects were observed for duration of physical activity , television viewing , VO2 max , and blood cholesterol .
Generally , school-based interventions had little effect on physical activity rates , systolic and diastolic blood pressure , BMI , and pulse rate .
At a minimum , a combination of printed educational material s and changes to the school curriculum that promote physical activity result ed in positive effects .
Few changes in outcomes were observed in this up date with the exception of blood cholesterol and physical activity rates .
For example blood cholesterol was no longer positively impacted upon by school-based physical activity interventions .
The evidence suggests the ongoing implementation of school-based physical activity interventions at this time , given the positive effects on behavior and one physical health status measure .
BACKGROUND The World Health Organization ( WHO ) estimates that 1.9 million deaths worldwide are attributable to physical inactivity and at least 2.6 million deaths are a result of being overweight or obese .
In addition , WHO estimates that physical inactivity causes 10 % to 16 % of cases each of breast cancer , colon , and rectal cancers as well as type 2 diabetes , and 22 % of coronary heart disease and the burden of these and other chronic diseases has rapidly increased in recent decades .
OBJECTIVES The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence of the effectiveness of school-based interventions in promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents .