Background: Physical activity (PA) promotes health in adults as well as children. A large proportion of schoolchildren don´t meet the recommendations for PA. Few scientific studies have investigated both effectiveness and feasibility regarding school-based efforts to increase PA. We have evaluated a method we call Physical Activity and Lesson in Combination (In Swedish: Fysisk Aktivitet och Lektion i Kombination, FALK).
Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of FALK.
Methods: Two schools participated, one constituted control group (C), the other intervention group (I). In addition to the same PA as C-group, the I-group had three FALK sessions of 30 minutes each week.
We used pedometers to assess changes in physical activity and interviews to evaluate feasibility.
A total of 164 pupils aged 7-9 wore pedometers for a whole week on four occasions over two semesters. The number of steps per day (SPD) and the proportion of pupils with <10,000 SPDs were compared.
Interviews were carried out with students, parents, and educators (n = 35) and were analyzed by qualitative content analysis.
Findings: Pedometer data shows that students who perform FALK sessions are more physically active, and the proportion of students with insufficient PA is smaller, compared to students who don´t have FALK.
The interviews show both enabling factors and barriers, but overall FALK is experienced as positive, clear, and flexible.
Conclusions: FALK increases PA and is assessed as a useful and feasible practice to integrate PA into theoretical teaching.
Halmstad, 2023.
10th Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference,"Sustainability and the impact on health and well-being”, June 14–16, 2023, Halmstad, Sweden.