Increasing physical activity for public school students in West Virginia: Comparison of 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 findings

BACKGROUND: As part of the assessment of the West Virginia (WV) Healthy Lifestyles Act in 2007-2008, it was recommended that public school students increase their physical activity levels with an emphasis on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. This study examined the status of that recommendation by comparing relevant indicators in 2007-2008 with those in 2008-2009. METHODS: Data were collected via (1) phone interviews with 1500 parents of public school students, (2) self-reported surveys of public school physical education teachers (n=398 in 2007-2008, n=413 in 2008-2009), and (3) annual state reported FITNESSGRAM results. Comparisons between years were made using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. The alpha value for statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: In 2008-2009, 32% of parents reported that their child was physically active for at least 60 minutes on all seven days of the previous week, a statistically significant decrease from 46% in 2007-2008. Congruent with this, physical education teachers reported that 51% of the physical education period was spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity, a statistically significant decrease from 62% in 2007-2008. In addition, FITNESSGRAM results indicated that 39% of students needed improvement in aerobic capacity, a statistically significant increase from 33% in 2007-2008. A small but statistically significant increase of 1% was also found in relation to students who needed improvement in muscular strength and endurance as well as flexibility. CONCLUSIONS: The 2007-2008 recommendation for increasing physical activity in WV public school students, with an emphasis on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, has not been met.