Physical Activity through a Classroom-Based Intervention: A Pragmatic Non-Randomized Trial among Swedish Adolescents in an Upper Secondary School

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 21; p. 11041
• Main Authors: Christiansen, Filip, Ahlqvist, Viktor H, Nyroos, Mikaela, Löfgren, Hans, Berglind, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20.10.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Accelerometer; Accelerometers; Adolescent; Adolescents; Child development; Classrooms; Exercise; Humans; Intervention; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mental health; Physical activity; Physical education; Public speaking; School-based intervention; Schools; Secondary schools; Sedentary Behavior; Statistical analysis; Students; Sweden; Teenagers; Sweden; school-based intervention; accelerometer; physical activity
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182111041

Schools are an important arena to curb the decline in physical activity (PA) in youth. School-based interventions with accelerometer-measured PA are warranted. This study aimed to increase accelerometer-measured PA in adolescents following a 12-month school-based intervention. Two school-classes of 16-18-year-old Swedish students were allocated to intervention group and control group. Accelerometer-measured PA was gathered at baseline, 6- and 12-month follow-up. Mixed-effects linear regression was used to investigate between-group and within-group differences in mean minutes per day (min/day) of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA (LPA) and sedentary time (ST). Fifty-seven students participated (intervention group = 31, control group = 26). At 12-month follow-up, the intervention group performed 5.9 (95% CI: -4.3, 16.2) min/day more in MVPA, 1.8 (95% CI: -17.9, 14.2) min/day less in LPA, and 4.1 (95% CI: -27.3, 19.2) min/day less in ST compared to the control group. Within the intervention group, there was no significant change in PA. Within the control group, LPA decreased (95% CI: -19.6, -0.2; = 0.044) and ST increased (95% CI: 1.8, 30.8; = 0.028). Although no between-group differences in PA were statistically significant, the within-group changes may suggest a preventive impact on the decline in PA during adolescence.