Physical Activity and Situational Interest in Mobile Technology Integrated Physical Education: A Preliminary Study

Background: Mobile technology permeates every aspect of student lives. The question is whether mobile technology integration can produce desirable effects in the gymnasium. Objective: This preliminary study aimed to investigate the effects of mobile technology integration on student situational interest and physical activity fluctuation in physical education lessons. Methods: Sixth grade students (N = 53) were randomly placed into either an experiment group by class that utilized mobile technology-integrated resources (iPad and applications), or a comparison group that did not utilize technology. Both groups received five identical physical education lessons. Student physical activity was tracked with accelerometers, and they completed the Situational Interest Scale at the end of each lesson. The researchers analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with repeated measures. Results: Students in the experiment group reported significantly lower physical activity and situational interest than their counterparts in the comparison group. A group x lesson interaction suggested that student step/min steadily increased throughout the lessons in the experiment group while remaining relative stable in the comparison group. Conclusions: Mobile technologies such as iPad and applications with no direct physical activity prompt had little effect on increasing physical activity or situational interest in the short term. It is important to consider the classroom dynamics to realistically evaluate the constraints and strengths that mobile technology-integrated physical education lessons may pose in a traditional physical education environment

Physical Activity and Situational Interest in Mobile Technology Integrated Physical Education: A Preliminary Study

Background: Mobile technology permeates every aspect of student lives. The question is whether mobile technology integration can produce desirable effects in the gymnasium. Objective: This preliminary study aimed to investigate the effects of mobile technology integration on student situational interest and physical activity fluctuation in physical education lessons. Methods: Sixth grade students (N = 53) were randomly placed into either an experiment group by class that utilized mobile technology-integrated resources (iPad and applications), or a comparison group that did not utilize technology. Both groups received five identical physical education lessons. Student physical activity was tracked with accelerometers, and they completed the Situational Interest Scale at the end of each lesson. The researchers analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with repeated measures. Results: Students in the experiment group reported significantly lower physical activity and situational interest than their counterparts in the comparison group. A group x lesson interaction suggested that student step/min steadily increased throughout the lessons in the experiment group while remaining relative stable in the comparison group. Conclusions: Mobile technologies such as iPad and applications with no direct physical activity prompt had little effect on increasing physical activity or situational interest in the short term. It is important to consider the classroom dynamics to realistically evaluate the constraints and strengths that mobile technology-integrated physical education lessons may pose in a traditional physical education environment

Overweight, Obesity, and Screen-Time Viewing Among Chinese School-Aged Children: National Prevalence Estimates From the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China—The Youth Study

Purpose: This study presents the most recent estimates of prevalence of overweight, obesity, and screen-time viewing among Chinese school-aged children. Demographic differences in these estimates between sexes and resident locales were also examined. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of 116,615 Chinese school children 9 to 17 years of age who participated in the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China—the Youth Study project. Outcomes were the prevalence of children\u27s overweight (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 85th - \u3c 95th percentile) and obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile) (defined by the Working Group on Obesity in China) and not meeting screen-time viewing recommendations (“not meeting” was defined as more than 2 h per day of viewing activities after school). Analyses were conducted on the whole sample and by school grade cohorts (primary, junior middle, junior high schools), sex, and residence locales (urban, rural). Results: Overall, 14.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 13.8%-15.0%) of children and adolescents were overweight, 11.9% (95% CI: 11.0%-13.0%) were obese, and 36.8% (95% CI: 34.7%-38.9%) did not meet screen-time viewing recommendations. Across the 3 grade cohorts, boys were more likely to be obese than girls, and primary and junior middle school children living in urban areas were more likely to be obese than those living in rural areas. Primary and junior middle school boys were less likely to meet screen-time recommendations than girls, and junior high school children living in urban areas were less likely to meet screen-time recommendations than school children of the same grades living in rural areas. Conclusion: In 2016, the prevalence of obesity among Chinese school children was about 12%, and about 37% of them did not meet screen-time viewing recommendations. The prevalence of obesity and sedentary behavior was generally higher among boys than among girls, and it was higher for children living in urban areas than for those living in rural areas