Charles B. Corbin

Restricting Opportunities to Be Active during School Time: Do Children Compensate by Increasing Physical Activity Levels after School?

Abstract Opportunities for children to be physically active during school time are sparse and becoming increasingly so. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if children would compensate for school days (9 a.m.–3 p.m.) of restricted physical activity opportunities by increasing activity levels after school (3 p.m.–7:30 p.m.). Third and fourth grade children (N = 76) each wore a CSA accelerometer for 4 nonconsecutive days. Two days were categorized as active—during school, all children participated in outdoor recess and physical education class. Two days were categorized as restricted—all children spent their recess time indoors at a computer terminal, and no physical education class was scheduled. Dependent t tests revealed that children did not compensate for a sedentary school day by increasing their levels of physical activity after school. In fact, average movement counts per minute were higher in the 3 p.m.–7:30 p.m. period following the active day (525 counts·min−1) versus the restricted day (186 counts·min−1). These findings suggest cause for concern if childrens opportunities to be active within school time are limited. Several reasons are given as to why children did not compensate or “make up” for the physical activity opportunities missed during the restricted school day.

Accumulating 10,000 steps: Does this meet current physical activity guidelines?

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether taking 10,000 steps in a day is equivalent to meeting the current minimum physical activity guidelines of accumulating at least 30 min of moderate physical activity (MPA). Fifty-nine women ages 20–65 years wore a pedometer and accelerometer concurrently on their right hip for 1 day. There were no differences in the age, body mass index, or the amount of time the pedometers and accelerometers were worn between the 10K+ and the < 10K groups. The 10K+ group accumulated significantly more steps and minutes of MPA than the < 10K group (M = 13,084 steps, SD = 2,603 vs. M = 7,518 steps, SD = 1,956; and M = 62.1 min, SD = 27.7 vs. M = 38.8 min, SD = 18.9; p < .05). A 2 × 2 chi-square analysis demonstrated no difference between the proportions of 10K and < 10K participants who met the step goal, when all minutes of MPA accumulated throughout the day were considered (x2 = 1.8, df = 1, p = .175). When only continuous bouts of MPA lasting > 5 min and > 10 min were considered, a significantly greater proportion of 10K participants met the current physical activity guidelines than the < 10K participants (X2 = 11.5, df = 1, p = .001, and X2 = 5.9, df = 1, p = .015, respectively). Our findings suggest that individuals who accumulate 10,000 steps/day are more likely to meet the current physical activity guidelines by engaging in the length of bouts promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine (Pate et al., 1995) and the US Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). However, the data also reveal that accumulating 10,000 steps/day does not guarantee meeting the guidelines in the bout lengths documented to confer the health benefits of physical activity.

The Validity of the Tritrac-R3D Activity Monitor for the Assessment of Physical Activity in Children

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Tritrac-R3D Activity Monitor, a new instrument designed to improve assessments of physical activity. Comparisons were made with a heart rate monitor and with a Caltrac Activity Monitor. Thirty-five children (ages 9-11 years) were monitored on 3 different school days with all 3 instruments. The Tritrac was moderately correlated with the heart rate monitor (r = .58) and highly correlated with the Caltrac monitor (r = .88). By taking advantage of the minute-by-minute timing capability of the Tritrac and the heart rate monitors, it was discovered that the correlations between these instruments were highest during free play situations (lunch/recess, recess, after school) and were lower when activity was more limited (class time) or structured (physical education). The ability of the Tritrac to assess activity on a minute-by-minute basis may greatly enhance its overall utility.

Are American Children and Youth Fit

We analyzed data from the National School Population Fitness Survey (Reiff et al., 1986) and data collected by the authors of the original study to assess the fitness of American children and youth based on the results of additional analyses. We then compared the numbers of children and youth meeting norm-referenced standards to numbers meeting recently adopted criterion-referenced health (CRH) standards for individual test items in the FITNESSGRAM (Institute for Aerobics Research, 1987) and AAHPERD Physical Best (AAHPERD, 1988) test batteries. The number of children and youth meeting CRH standards for multiple items in a test battery was also determined. Finally, data were analyzed to determine if changes in fitness have occurred among American children and youth over recent decades. Our results suggest that, with the exception of measures of arm and shoulder girdle strength/endurance, more children and youth meet criterion-referenced health standards than norm-referenced standards (50th percentile) and the majority of American children and youth meet CRH standards for individual test items. However, the majority of American children and youth cannot meet the CRH standards for a battery of items for either of the two batteries studied. A second look at decade to decade comparisons of fitness produced evidence that questions the idea that youth are less fit now than in previous years.

Eating Disorders among Female Athletes.

In brief: Research has indicated that 4% to 19% of female college students have eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, anorexia athletica, or bulimia. To determine the extent to which preoccupation with weight and tendencies toward eating disorders are problems among female athletes, we analyzed the responses to a questionnaire completed by 168 college women-101 nonathletes, 35 athletes whose sports emphasize leanness, and 32 athletes whose sports do not emphasize leanness. The results showed that 6% of the nonathletes, 20% of the athletes in sports that emphasize leanness, and 10% of all the athletes were either exceptionally preoccupied with weight or had tendencies toward eating disorders.

Youth Fitness Testing: The Effect of Percentile-Based Evaluative Feedback on Intrinsic Motivation

This study was a test of Deci and Ryans (1985) cognitive evaluation theory in a fitness testing situation. More specifically, it was a test of Proposition 2 of that theory, which posits that external events that increase or decrease perceived competence will increase or decrease intrinsic motivation. Seventh and eighth grade schoolchildren (N = 105) volunteered for an experiment that was ostensibly to collect data on a new youth fitness test (the Illinois Agility Run). After two untimed practice runs, a specially adapted version of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) was administered as a pretest of intrinsic motivation. Two weeks later when subjects ran again, they were apparently electronically timed. In reality, the subjects were given bogus feedback. Subjects in a positive feedback condition were told their scores were above the 80th percentile, while those in a negative feedback condition were told their scores were below the 20th percentile. Those in a control condition received no feedback. The IMI was again administered to the subjects after their runs. Multivariate and subsequent univariate tests were significant for all four subscale dependent variables (perceived interest-enjoyment, competence, effort, and pressure-tension). Positive feedback enhanced all aspects of intrinsic motivation, whereas negative feedback decreased them. In a further test of cognitive evaluation theory, path analysis results supported the prediction that perceived competence would mediate changes in the other IMI subscales. Taken together, these results clearly support cognitive evaluation theory and also may have important implications regarding motivation for those who administer youth fitness tests.

Promoting Physical Activity among Sedentary Women Using Pedometers

Abstract Sedentary women (n = 92) classified as low (L), medium (M), and high (H) in baseline step counts and assigned to 10,000-step goal (TSG) and personal step goal (PSG) groups (within levels) were compared on goal attainment and step counts. A significant interaction for goal attainment, F(2, 86) = 4.51, p = .014, indicated that the L group was significantly less likely to meet the TSG than the M and H groups. Step counts increased after goal assignment, but not more for one group than the other. Results of this research support the previous finding that women with low baseline step counts are unlikely to meet a TSG, but a TSG does not result in lower step counts than a PSG.

Physical Education As an Agent of Change

Much has changed since the days of Dudley Allen Sargent. Still, the purposes espoused by Sargent, and others who preceded us, are not so different from the purposes I see for our field today. Physical education has much to offer society and it is my belief that it can be an effective agent of change—especially in promoting the health of our nation. In this paper, I attempt to make a case for the establishment of clear common objectives for physical education that provide the basis for future action. Lack of clear and unambiguous objectives for physical education will render it (and NAPEHE) ineffective as an agent of change in the future. Suggestions concerning common objectives for physical education are outlined as well as suggestions for change in the schools, in colleges and universities, and within NAPEHE. My contention is that a clear purpose within physical education is essential if physical education is to be an effective agent of change in society.

Physical activity assessment in American Indian schoolchildren in the Pathways study

The objective of the Pathways physical activity feasibility study was to develop methods for comparing type and amount of activity between intervention and control schools participating in a school-based obesity prevention program. Two methods proved feasible: 1) a specially designed 24-h physical activity recall questionnaire for assessing the frequency and type of activities and 2) use of a triaxial accelerometer for assessing amount of activity. Results from pilot studies supporting the use of these methods are described. Analyses of activity during different segments of the day showed that children were most active after school. The activities reported most frequently (e.g., basketball and mixed walking and running) were also the ones found to be most popular in the study population on the basis of formative assessment surveys. Both the physical activity recall questionnaire and the triaxial accelerometer methods will be used to assess the effects of the full-scale intervention on physical activity.

Top 10 Reasons for Quality Physical Education

JOPERD • Volume 77 No. 6 • August 2006 W hen the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2000, we moved into the 21st century. Noted historian Roberta Park (1989) has suggested that the turn of the century marked the beginning of the second century for the profession of physical education. She also noted that it was time for physical education to move on from its status as a “second-class” profession to “fi rst class” status, or as she put it, to “become the renaissance profession of the new millennium” (p. 1). During the 20th century, medicine emerged as the renaissance profession because of the development of a sound scientifi c base. Substantial scientifi c evidence supports the role of physical activity in disease prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion, and quality physical education represents our best opportunity to provide all children with physical activity experiences that promote physical activity now and for a lifetime. The characteristics of quality physical education have been identifi ed by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE, 2004a). They appear in table 1. The prevalence of daily physical education in America is low (Grunbaum et al., 2004) therefore, providing daily opportunities to learn in physical education is not always feasible. Advocating for a daily physical education policy is a complex, costly, and political process, but such advocacy has had success recently at the elementary level and middle school level (e.g., in North Carolina). A starting point for many schools is to obtain funding for qualifi ed physical education specialists. Physical education specialists delivering meaningful content and appropriate instruction must become the norm in the educational system in order to provide children with positive physical activity experiences that will lead them to maintain physical activity throughout their lifetime. In order to achieve “fi rst class” status for their profession, physical education professionals must do a better job of documenting and studying the evidence of the link between quality physical education and present and future physical activity participation. To date, research has demonstrated that programs exhibiting the characteristics of quality physical education lead to increased physical activity levels (Dale, Corbin, & Dale, 2000; McKenzie et al., 2004; Pate et al., 2005; Sallis et al., 1997), improved self-concept (Goni & Zulaika, 2000), increased self-effi cacy (Dishman et al., 2004), improved motor skills (Emmanouel, Zervas, & Vagenas, 1992), increased enjoyment (Dishman et al., 2005), increased motivation (Prusak, Treasure, Darst, & Pangrazi, 2004), reduced sedentary behaviors following graduation from high school (Dale & Corbin, 2000), and increased physical activity over the long-term in women (Trudeau, Laurencelle, Trembley, Rajic, & Shephard, 1998). In addition to the existing research (Trudeau & Shephard, 2005), large-scale interventions with signifi cant physical education components are being conducted (e.g., the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls and Lifestyle Education for Activity Program) and will provide insights into physical education’s impact on youth physical activity (Pate et al., 2005). The scientifi c evidence supporting physical activity’s role in health and well-being has been extensively documented, and there is little question that physical education plays an important role in public health because it reaches most children (Pate, Corbin, Simons-Morton, & Ross, 1987; Sallis & McKenzie, 1991). Moreover, because physical activity has been engineered out of most aspects of daily life, the relative contribution of physical education to daily physical activity becomes signifi cant. The NASPE (2004a) defi nition of a physically educated person, which should result from a quality physical education program, explicitly identifi es the importance of physical activity in the Top 10 Reasons for Quality Physical Education