{"id":122666,"date":"2021-09-01T09:52:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T13:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=122666"},"modified":"2024-04-16T16:53:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T20:53:17","slug":"school-day-structure-could-benefit-childrens-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/school-day-structure-could-benefit-childrens-health\/","title":{"rendered":"School Day Structure Could Benefit Children\u2019s Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having a structured environment for children, whether during school days or when stuck in quarantine as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, could benefit children\u2019s health, according to new research from the University of Central Florida.<\/p>\n

In a study of more than 50 rural schoolchildren over the course of two weeks, researchers found that behaviors that lead to obesity \u2014 like too much sedentary behavior or screen time \u2014 dropped on school days compared to non-school days, while amounts of activity increased. The results were published recently in the journal Childhood Obesity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The findings are important because more than 20 percent of U.S. children ages 6 to 11 are obese, which could lead to problems such as type 2 diabetes or other diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

The researchers focused on rural children because they are at increased risk for obesity compared to their urban-dwelling counterparts. Additionally, rural children\u2019s obesogenic behaviors have not been studied as much, says Keith Brazendale, an assistant professor in UCF\u2019s Department of Health Sciences<\/a> and the study\u2019s lead author.<\/p>\n

These behaviors can include low physical activity, poor diets, irregular sleep and excess screen and media time.<\/p>\n

The researchers used wristband accelerometers to compare the students\u2019 physical activity and sleep on school and non-school days in addition to diaries of daily activities, diet and screen time that were recorded by the parents.<\/p>\n

They found that children accumulated an average of 16 additional minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day on school days compared to non-school days.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, students reduced their average daily sedentary time by about an hour each day and their screen time by about an hour and half each day on school days compared to non-school days.<\/p>\n

In a separate study of a sub-sample of the rural children, the researchers found that rural children exhibited accelerated weight gain during five months of home quarantine due to the closure of schools and community-operated programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis supports the benefit of attending schools and programs,\u201d Brazendale says.<\/p>\n

To combat obesogenic behaviors on non-school days or during quarantine, some sort of structured program, or at least a structured schedule for children on those days is recommended, Brazendale says.<\/p>\n