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 .
Body fatness and physical activity levels of young children
Background : The decline in physical activity levels of young children seems to be combined with a high prevalence of obesity and overweight and a reduction in the participation in organized sport . With the ever-increasing interest in exploring the relationship between physical activity and obesity amongst children , it is important to provide a more precise estimate of both physical activity and body fatness . A significant proportion of previous research on this topic has relied on self-report methods to assess physical activity and body mass index as a proxy for actual body fatness . There is a need to investigate the relationships between physical activity and fatness in children using objective methods . Aim : This study was conducted in order to explore the relationship between  physical activity patterns and percentage body fat amongst a group of primary school children . Subjects and methods : Forty-seven primary school children ( boys , n = 23 ; girls , n = 24 ) participated in this study . They were r and omly selected from children in years 5 and 6 ( 9–11 year olds ) of four schools drawn from the same catchment area in the city of Birmingham , UK . The frequency , intensity and duration of physical activity were determined using continuous heart rate monitoring from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm over three separate days ( two weekdays and one weekend day ) . Percentage body fat was assessed using air displacement plethysmography . Results : Results indicated that 52 % of children did not achieve a single 15-min bout of sustained moderate physical activity over the three days of monitoring . Independent t-tests revealed that girls were significantly fatter ( t44 = −3.126 , p = 0.003 ) than boys . There was no significant difference ( t45 = 0.225 , p > 0.05 ) between boys and girls in accumulated time spent with heart rates above the moderate physical activity threshold . Pearson 's product moment correlation coefficients revealed no significant ( r = −0.017 , p > 0.05 ) relationship between per cent body fat and average daily time spent in moderate and vigorous activity . Conclusion : Despite the prediction to the contrary , there was no evidence of a significant relationship between percentage body fat of children and time spent in moderate and vigorous activity . Additionally , while there were no significant gender differences in physical activity patterns , children were more physically active during weekdays than weekends
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 .