The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting physical activity (PA) and sedentary pursuits of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) throughout the week, during weekdays, and on weekend days. Sixty-eight children with ASD aged 6-17 years participated in this study. An ActiGraph accelerometer and activity log were used to assess…

Ample evidence documents rising student obesity in summer months and falling student obesity during the school year. One theory for this pattern is that out-of-school days lack some of the structure and health-promoting behaviors that schools provide. Given this observed seasonal pattern, a natural question is whether there is room for policies…

Regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) has been linked to improved bone health, muscular fitness, cognitive function, sleep, and a reduced risk of depression and obesity. Many children are not engaging in the recommended amount of physical activity. Furthermore, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were found to engage in…

Though physical education instructional time varies across Canada, an idealised standard of 150 minutes per week has been identified, followed, and aspired to by many. For example, Canada's 'best performers' with respect to physical education instructional time achieve 150 minutes of weekly instruction. Moreover, Canada's national association for…

Gross motor and physical activity opportunities in early childhood are important for promoting health and development. We conducted two studies with the following aims: (1) to describe the quality of gross motor/physical activity early learning environments in Washington (WA) state, USA and (2) to study the relationship between the quality of…

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity (PA) outcomes in a sample of high school (HS) physical education (PE) lessons from schools that adopted "traditional" versus "modified block" schedule formats. Methods: We used the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) to conduct observations…

The principal is ultimately responsible for decisions regarding the master schedule at the elementary level of education (Canady & Rettig, 2013; Young, 2008), and these scheduling decisions are influenced by multiple factors (Benamati, 2010; Harris, 2013; Howard & Rakoz, 2009). Although principals have become increasingly aware of the need…

The rate of childhood obesity in the United States is approximately 17%. Because physical education can be a key intervention strategy against this epidemic, this study was conducted to determine physical educators' perceptions on their use of recommended national standards specifically focused on physical fitness and activity in their classroom.…

Many adolescent girls do not achieve a health-enhancing level of physical activity. This study aimed to identify the school physical environment factors that adolescent girls perceive to be important and influential regarding their physical education (PE) behaviour. Adolescent girls (n = 38; aged 13-16) participated in eight moderated focus…

Objective: A recent economic approach suggests that people do not account for the long-term implications of unhealthy behaviours, preventing them from performing a fully rational trade-off between current benefits and future costs, leading to negative health outcomes. We examined whether the current allocation of time to physical activity among…

Despite the well documented benefits of an active lifestyle, lack of physical activity is a significant health problem in college students. The purpose of this descriptive study was to attain baseline physical activity behaviors, motivation factors, and self-efficacy levels to assist with developing tailored physical activity programs and…

Introduction: This project tested visual schedules and social stories in a physical education setting in order to increase the physical activity of developmentally disabled students. Method: This cohort study design involved 17 physical education teachers in a training course with an initial survey and 7-month post-survey. The initial survey…