Abstract
Physical activity guidelines for the maintenance of health and wellbeing recommend that children engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily (WHO, 2010). In South Africa, community sport and recreation facilities and opportunities are meagre in areas previously disadvantaged by apartheid. Schools in these communities should, therefore, be primary sites for enabling children to meet the minimum activity recommended. However, their role in promoting physical activity (PA) has been hampered by the marginalization of physical education in the school curriculum and a decline in extra-curricular sports provision (Van Deventer, 2007). Aim: To investigate childrens physical activity patterns during a school day in relation to meeting daily recommended guidelines. Method: A total of 112 children (boys n=53; girls n=59), from Grades 3 to 6 (aged 8 to 12) from 3 disadvantaged schools participated in the study. Physical activity was measured over 5 consecutive days using the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer. PA data representing the whole school day and recess periods were examined. Results: Children accumulated 35 minutes of in-school MVPA, with 95% not meeting 60 minutes of MVPA a day. Recess accounted for 47% of MVPA. Significant declines were recorded across grades and ages: Grade 6s accumulated only 20 minutes of MVPA. Boys participated in significantly more MVPA than girls (boys=37.99 ? 6.81 min, girls=32.14 ? 7.19 min). Conclusion: The low levels of in-school MVPA amongst boys and girls, as well as the marked decline at Grade 6, are causes for concern. Schools should play a pivotal role in the provision of PA to combat the health risks associated with increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Schools need to increase PA through the provision of quality physical education, and find cost effective ways of promoting school-day PA.