Acute Effect of School-Based Active Breaks on Physical Activity Level and On-Task Classroom Behavior in Primary Schoolchildren

Tomás Reyes^1*Alberto Grao-Cruces²David Sánchez Oliva³Antonio Garcia Hermoso⁴Daniel Reyes-Molina⁵Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda⁶Jorge Olivares-Arancibia⁷Juan Hurtado⁸Jacqueline Paez⁸Gabriel Hernán Salinas Gallardo⁹Edgardo Mendoza⁹CAMILO OVALLE FERNÁNDEZ⁹Felipe Esteban Sepúlveda-Figueroa⁹Jessica Ibarra Mora¹⁰

• ¹Physical Activity Sciences Observatory (OCAF), Department of Physical Activity Sciences, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Avenida Playa Ancha 850, Valparaíso, Chile, Valparaíso, Chile
• ²Universidad de Cadiz Facultad de Ciencias de la Educacion, Puerto Real, Spain
• ³Universidad de Granada Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte, Granada, Spain
• ⁴Universidad Publica de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
• ⁵Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción, Chile
• ⁶Universidad Andres Bello Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales, Santiago, Chile
• ⁷Universidad de Las Americas, Santiago, Chile
• ⁸Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Valparaíso, Chile
• ⁹Universidad de Playa Ancha Facultad de Ciencias de la Educacion, Valparaíso, Chile
• ¹⁰Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educacion, Santiago, Chile

Introduction: Active breaks (ABs) in the classroom are a promising way to promote children's active behaviors while contributing to the development of their physical, academic and cognitive abilities. Yet the effects of the ABs, which are exclusive to classroom settings, remain unclear. The aim of this research was to determine the acute effect of an ABs intervention on physical activity level and on-task classroom behavior in schoolchildren. Method: The participants included 55 primary schoolchildren aged between 10 and 11 years (10.48 ± 0.5 years). Children were randomized into experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). In the EG, six ABs of four minutes and 30 seconds were applied during the school day. The CG performed their regular school day. Physical activity level was assessed throughout the school day using accelerometers (ActiGraph wGT3X-BT) and on-task classroom behavior was evaluated with the Direct Behavior Rating Scale. Results: The EG showed significant differences in the minutes of physical activity level across all five level compared to the CG: Sedentary time was significantly lower in the EG (EG 229.83±17.17 vs. GC 253.76±12,81 This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article minutes, p=0.001; ES= -158) while Light physical activity level (EG 36.65±11.66 vs. GC 32.20±7,77 minutes, p=0.002; ES= 1.04), Moderate physical activity level (EG 8.78±2,98 vs. GC 7.11±1,81 minutes, p=0.002; ES= 1.05), Vigorous physical activity level (EG 14.76±4.83 vs. GC 6.52±3.23 minutes, p=0.001; ES= 2.64) and Moderate-Vigorous physical activity level (EG 23.53±7.12 vs. GC 13.71±4.7 minutes, p=0.001; ES= 2.18) were all significantly. Regarding on-task classroom behavior outcomes, both Academic engagement (67.5 ± 25.61 vs. 82.91 ± 18.81; p=0.002; ES=0.1) and Disruption (15.8±17.21 vs. 7.51± 14.81; p=0.002; ES=0.5) showed statistically significant differences before and after the ABs. Regarding Respectful, (84.21 ±17.41 vs. 90.41 ±14; p=0.21) the ABs produced no significant change. Conclusion: The ABs are an effective strategy to acute increase primary school children's moderate and vigorous physical activity engagement and improvement on-task classroom behavior. Implementation should be considered by policymakers, educators and health professionals. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05403996.