Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Scotland, FK9 4LA, UK.
Institute of Education, Community and Society, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, EH8 8AQ, UK.
BMC Med. 2018 May 10;16(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12916-018-1049-z.
The Daily Mile is a physical activity programme made popular by a school in Stirling, Scotland. It is promoted by the Scottish Government and is growing in popularity nationally and internationally. The aim is that each day, during class time, pupils run or walk outside for 15 min (~1 mile) at a self-selected pace. It is anecdotally reported to have a number of physiological benefits including increased physical activity, reduced sedentary behaviour, increased fitness and improved body composition. This study aimed to investigate these reports.
We conducted a quasi-experimental repeated measures pilot study in two primary schools in the Stirling Council area: one school with, and one without, intention to introduce the Daily Mile. Pupils at the control school followed their usual curriculum. Of the 504 children attending the schools, 391 children in primary classes 1-7 (age 4-12 years) at the baseline assessment took part. The follow-up assessment was in the same academic year. Outcomes were accelerometer-assessed average daily moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and average daily sedentary behaviour, 20-m shuttle run fitness test performance and adiposity assessed by the sum of skinfolds at four sites. Valid data at both time points were collected for 118, 118, 357 and 327 children, respectively, for each outcome.
After correction for age and gender, significant improvements were observed in the intervention school relative to the control school for MVPA, sedentary time, fitness and body composition. For MVPA, a relative increase of 9.1 min per day (95% confidence interval or 95%CI 5.1-13.2 min, standardised mean difference SMD = 0.407, p = 0.027) was observed. For sedentary time, there was a relative decrease of 18.2 min per day (10.7-25.7 min, SMD = 0.437, p = 0.017). For the shuttle run, there was a relative increase of 39.1 m (21.9-56.3, SMD = 0.236, p = 0.037). For the skinfolds, there was a relative decrease of 1.4 mm (0.8-2.0 mm, SMD = 0.246, p = 0.036). Similar results were obtained when a correction for socioeconomic groupings was included.
The findings show that in primary school children, the Daily Mile intervention is effective at increasing levels of MVPA, reducing sedentary time, increasing physical fitness and improving body composition. These findings have relevance for teachers, policymakers, public health practitioners, and health researchers.
“每日一英里”是一项在苏格兰斯特灵的一所学校流行起来的体育活动计划。它由苏格兰政府推广，在国内外越来越受欢迎。其目的是每天在课间 15 分钟（约 1 英里）内，让学生以自选的速度进行跑步或散步。据报道，它具有许多生理益处，包括增加身体活动、减少久坐行为、提高健康水平和改善身体成分。本研究旨在调查这些报告。
我们在斯特灵议会区的两所小学进行了一项准实验性重复测量试点研究：一所学校有意引入“每日一英里”，另一所学校则没有。对照学校的学生按照常规课程进行学习。在基线评估中，参加了 504 名学生的小学 1-7 年级（4-12 岁）的 391 名儿童参与了研究。在同一年的学术评估中，对他们进行了随访评估。结果通过加速度计评估平均日常中等到剧烈强度的体力活动（MVPA）和平均日常久坐行为、20 米穿梭跑健身测试成绩以及四个部位的皮脂厚度来评估身体成分。对于每个结果，分别有 118、118、357 和 327 名儿童在两个时间点均有有效的数据。
在年龄和性别校正后，干预组相对于对照组，MVPA、久坐时间、健康水平和身体成分均有显著改善。在 MVPA 方面，每天增加 9.1 分钟（95%置信区间或 95%CI 5.1-13.2 分钟，标准化均数差 SMD=0.407，p=0.027）。在久坐时间方面，每天减少 18.2 分钟（10.7-25.7 分钟，SMD=0.437，p=0.017）。在 20 米穿梭跑中，相对增加 39.1 米（21.9-56.3 米，SMD=0.236，p=0.037）。在皮脂厚度方面，相对减少 1.4 毫米（0.8-2.0 毫米，SMD=0.246，p=0.036）。当包括社会经济分组的校正时，也得到了类似的结果。
研究结果表明，在小学生中，“每日一英里”干预措施有效提高了 MVPA 水平，减少了久坐时间，提高了身体健康水平，改善了身体成分。这些发现对教师、政策制定者、公共卫生从业者和健康研究人员具有重要意义。
