Assessing Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) in Elementary School PE

Background Physical education (PE) provides a natural opportunity for students to be physically active during the school day; however, the amount and intensity of this activity varies. Students are recommended to engage in MVPA for at least 50% of their PE class.

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to quantify the amount of MVPA that occurs during elementary school PE.

Significance Accurate assessment of physical activity in PE is important for curriculum planning.

Methodology Accelerometer data were collected from 203 students (100 2nd grade, 103 5th grade) from 10 elementary schools in West Virginia. At each school, PE teachers identified three 2nd grade classes and three 5th grade classes in which to collect the physical activity data. For each selected class, the teachers identified the first 4 students on their alphabetic roll to wear the accelerometers. PE teachers recorded the date and time of the class and the gender of the students wearing the accelerometers.

Findings Students engaged in MVPA for approximately 26% of their PE class. Students in the 2nd grade spent slightly more of their PE class engaged in MVPA than did those students in the 5th grade (27% vs. 25%); however this finding was not statistically significant. Male and female students spent equal amounts of PE class in MVPA (26%).

Conclusions Improvements to the PE curriculum may be needed in order to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines (50% of class spent in MVPA).