Physical activity levels of Hungarian children during school recess

<b>Objective :</b> The purpose of this study was to examine physical activity levels and patterns of physical activity across daily school recess periods, and the contribution of recess to daily physical activity.<br /><br /><b>Method :</b> Ninety-eight children (61% boys) from three schools in Hungary had their physical activity quantified using uni-axial accelerometry every 5 s for three consecutive school days (Wednesday to Friday). The proportion of time spent in sedentary, light, moderate-to-vigorous, and vigorous physical activity during 5 daily school recess periods was determined using existing age-appropriate cut-points. The relative contribution of recess to daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was also determined. Data were collected between May and October 2008.<br /><b><br />Results :</b> Boys engaged in significantly more light (30.6 ± 5.2%; 27.7 ± 5.1%), moderate-to-vigorous (24.9 ± 8.9%; 17.5 ± 5.2%) and vigorous physical activity (7.6 ± 4.7%; 4.3 ± 2.9%) than girls during recess. Girls (54.8 ± 8.1%) engaged in more sedentary activity than boys (44.5 ± 10.2%). Physical activity levels were generally similar across multiple recess periods. Recess contributed more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity towards weekday physical activity for boys (13.1%) than girls (10.8%).<br /><br /><b>Conclusions :</b> Since sedentary activity accounted for the largest proportion of recess, interventions may be needed across all recess periods to promote physical activity during the school day.<br />