Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London N6A 3K7, Canada.
Children's Health Research Institute, 800 Commissioners Road East, London N6C 2V5, Canada.
J Sch Health. 2019 Feb;89(2):129-135. doi: 10.1111/josh.12722.
Some Canadian schools have modified their daily schedules from the traditional school day (TSD) schedule (two 15-minute breaks and one 60-minute break) to a balanced school day (BSD) schedule (two 40-minute breaks). While this change increases daily planning and instructional time, it also changes the amount of time available for moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
This study uses a case-control design to examine differences in objectively measured MVPA between children in 3 schools using a BSD schedule and 3 schools using a TSD schedule. Study participants (aged 10-12 years) were recruited from schools in Ontario, Canada.
Regardless of schedule type, girls had lower MVPA than boys, and as both boys and girls got older their MVPA significantly decreased. The findings indicate there was no statistically significant difference in the total minutes of in-school MVPA between children from BSD schools and children from TSD schools. MVPA was significantly higher for older girls attending BSD schools than older girls attending TSD schools, suggesting that implementing a BSD may help curb declining MVPA as girls enter adolescence.
Despite encouraging findings, more rigorous studies (ie, pre-post experiments with control) are needed to better understand how changing schedules impacts children's health.
一些加拿大学校已经将其日常课程表从传统的学校日（TSD）时间表（两个 15 分钟课间休息和一个 60 分钟课间休息）修改为均衡的学校日（BSD）时间表（两个 40 分钟课间休息）。虽然这种变化增加了日常计划和教学时间，但也改变了进行中等至剧烈强度身体活动（MVPA）的时间量。
本研究采用病例对照设计，比较了使用 BSD 时间表的 3 所学校和使用 TSD 时间表的 3 所学校的儿童之间，通过客观测量的 MVPA 差异。研究参与者（年龄在 10-12 岁之间）是从加拿大安大略省的学校招募的。
无论课程表类型如何，女孩的 MVPA 均低于男孩，且随着男孩和女孩年龄的增长，其 MVPA 显著下降。研究结果表明，BSD 学校和 TSD 学校的儿童在校内 MVPA 总分钟数上没有统计学上的显著差异。在 BSD 学校就读的年龄较大的女孩的 MVPA 明显高于在 TSD 学校就读的年龄较大的女孩，这表明实施 BSD 可能有助于遏制女孩进入青春期后 MVPA 的下降。
尽管有令人鼓舞的发现，但仍需要更严格的研究（即，具有对照的前后实验）来更好地了解更改时间表对儿童健康的影响。
