Private School Children Physically more Active than State School Students

A pilot study of schools in Sheffield, U.K., suggests that children in private schools are more active than those in state-run schools. The research is being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK, and was undertaken by Dr Emma J Davies, University of Nottingham and Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, and Dr Kimberley L Edwards, University of Nottingham, U.K. 

The researchers studied three schools - two independent and one state school. Of the independent schools one was all boys and the other was an all girls school. The third school was co-ed. The researchers examined 189 children aged 12-13 years. These children were questioned on their physical activity and sedentary behaviour for the past week. The physical activity was based on MET i.e. calculation was done by taking into consideration the energy used in upping the metabolic rate and the time spent in doing the physical activity.

The study showed that 87 percent of private school children were more physically active compared to 71 percent of state school children. The independent school children mostly met the government guidelines for physical activity. It also found that sedentary behavior was more common in private school children. This means that private school children spend lesser time in lighter physical activities. Children's overall sedentary minutes per week were notably calculated by school type, i.e. private school equals to more sedentary minutes.

"These results show that children at state school undertook less physical activity across a 7-day week (whether at school or home) than their peers at independent schools. This early work suggests that increasing the amount of time children are active at state schools could be beneficial for many children's health," said Dr Davies.

"Further research is required to confirm these findings and to determine the level to which they can be generalised across the UK. These results have potential widespread use for both government and school level policy making in tackling the current childhood inactivity and obesity problems," she added.