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Table 1 Methodological characteristics of secondary school PE lesson studies included in the systematic review

From: A systematic review and meta-analysis of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels in secondary school physical education lessons

Reference: first author, year & study type

Sample size, schools (n), students (n)

Population age (mean (SD) or range), sex (% female), SES, ethnicity, geographic location

Aim, study groups included in analysis

Recruitment method, response rate (%)

Outcome measures

Measure of MVPA

PE lesson delivery, season/month & year

Number of PE classes observed, minutes

PE activities

Middle Schools

Barroso et al. 2009 [36] Cross-sectional study

Schools: 17 middle schools Students: 6th – 8th grade, number of students NR

Age, sex, ethnicity, SES NR

Texas-Mexico border, USA

To assess awareness/adherence to Senate Bill 42, & to assess the impact of Senate Bill 42 on the frequency/quality of structured PA, & prevalence of child self-reported PA behaviours & child overweight along the Texas-Mexican border a

Group A = subsample of 17 schools on Texas-Mexico border

A subsample (17/112) of 2004/05 SPAN middle schools in 4 Texas-Mexico border metro areas (based on probability sampling).

Response rate: NR

Awareness of & adherence to Senate Bill 42, self-report PA & SSR, PE class attendance, MPA, VPA, height, weight, BMI, behavioural characteristics

SOFIT

PE instructors, Female & Male Spring 2007/08

≤3 PE lessons observed per school (1 observation per 6th, 7th & 8th grade); classes could be mixed; total = 46

NR (mainly indoor activities)

Coe et al. 2006. [32] RCT

School: 1 public school

Student: 214 6th grade students

11.5 ± 0.4 years (range 10–12.8 years); 51% boys, 49% girls; 68% White, 10–14% Hispanic, 3–4% Black, 3-6% Asian, 12% other ethnicity. SES NR

Western Michigan, USA

To determine the effect of PE class enrolment & physical activity on academic achievement in middle school children

Group A = all PE lessons (no control)

Recruitment: students recruited within school, consent forms sent to parents on first day of school

Response rate = 36.8% students (229/622). 93.4% (214/229) completed data collection

Academic achievement, %MPA & %VPA in PE lesson, habitual PA/day, height, weight, BMI

SOFIT

2 PE teachers in the school

8 lessons observed (each teacher (2) observed 4 times throughout the year), 55 min classes/day

NR

Fu et al. 2013 [27] Non-randomised trial

School: 1 urban middle school, 7th–8th grade

Students: 61 students

12.6 (0.6) years; 41% male. Ethnicity & SES NR

Mountain West region, USA

To examine the effects of a health-related physical fitness-based basketball program on middle school students’ in-class physical activity, perceived competence, & enjoyment as compared to the effects on those study variables shown by a control group participating in the traditional approach basketball unit

Group A = baseline results of Health related physical fitness basketball unit; Group B = Baseline results of Traditional approach basketball unit

Recruitment: students recruited within school, parents/guardians provided informed written consent

Response rate: NR

In-class PA, perceived competence, children’s enjoyment

Pedometer

PE teacher, master’s degree in PE, 30 min training on study protocol (rationale, hands on experience of implementing strategies)

1 × 50 min PE session class/week for 6 weeks (only baseline data included in this analysis)

Basketball. Included aerobic & static/dynamic warm-up (5 min), skill related drills (15 min), game-play (30 min)

Gao et al. 2011 [37] Cross-sectional Study

School: 1 suburban public school, 6-8th grade

Students: 149 students, 10–14 years old

12.48 (1.02) years; 50% male; 19.81 kg/m2; 22% overweight/obese; 89.3% Caucasian, 7.4% African American, 2% Asian American, 1.3% Hispanic American; mostly middle to high SES families; 28.9% from 6th grade, 36.2% from 7th grade, 34.9% from 8th grade

Southern USA

To identify the percentages of students are overweight & obese based on BMI; students’ PA levels in PE as measured by accelerometers; to determine if there are significant differences in students’ PA levels across different BMI groups (healthy weight vs overweight/obese)

Group A = all PE lessons (total); then results by weight status (healthy weight & overweight/obese)

Recruitment: recruited within school, permission obtained from participants & parents/guardians

Response rate: NR

BMI, MVPA in PE class

Accelerometer

3 PE lessons,

Taught by PE teachers, teaching on alternate days

2 or 3 ×90 min PE classes/week

Catch-ball, walking/jogging, line dancing, soccer, table tennis. PE time included warm-up routines, activities & games. All classes ended with a lesson assessment

Liu et al. 2013 [34] Non-randomised trial

Schools: two middle schools, 6th grade

Student: 247 students; PE4Life = 154 (80 boys, 74 girls), Traditional = 93 (37 boys, 56 girls)

11.58 ± 0.61 & 11.40 ± 0.46 years (mean age of 2 groups); 47.4% male; median income of groups ~ $30,000; >95% white ethnicity

Region NR, USA

To compare health-related physical fitness of 2 samples of 6th grade student enrolled in 2 different PE programs (PE4life Program & a traditional PE program), which were in striking contrast in their MVPA levels in PE class

Group A = traditional PE program

Recruitment: all 6th graders from 2 schools invited to participate

Response rate: NR

MVPA in PE lessons, % body fat, BMI, progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run, fitness test

SOFIT

PE specialists, 9 years of experience, aged 36–52 years old

43 lessons observed at each school, 90 min PE/week

PE4life Program: Individual/lifetime sports & strength/fitness activities

Traditional PE program: competitive team sports & other PA

McKenzie et al. 2006 [29] RCT

Schools: 36 public schools, 6 field sites

Students: mean (SD) 1027 (285) students/school

100% girls; 47% non-white. 34% received free or low cost meals. Age & SES NR.

Multi-site, USA

To assess girls’ PA in middle school PE as it related to field site, lesson context & location, teacher gender, & class composition

Group A = baseline value from the TAAG study schools

Recruitment: Schools participating in TAAG

Response rate: NR

MVPA in PE lessons, lesson context, activity promotion

SOFIT

60% taught by female PE teachers

Jan-May 2003

431 lessons (70–74 per site). Mean lesson length 37.3 ± 9.4 min. 30 students/class 83% in co-educational format. Observations occurred over 3 days/school

NR

65% held indoors

Springer et al. 2013 [38] Group randomized Serial Cross-sectional Study

School: 30 public middle schools, 6th-8th grade (MVPA collected in subsample of 21 schools)

Students: NR, only 6th - 7th grade students provided data on MVPA in PE lessons

Whole sample (6th-8th grade) demographics - 13.9 years; 51.2% female; 37.9% overweight & 19.2% obese; 51.9% Hispanic, 25.1% White, 13.2% African American; 58.7% economically disadvantaged

Texas, USA

The 3.5 year CATCH Middle School Project aimed to promote PA, healthy eating, & obesity prevention among year 6–8 middle school students & their families. The evaluation aimed to observe changes in energy balance behaviours based on exposure to CATCH over 3.5 years

Group A = baseline data from a subsample of 21 schools

Recruitment: 30/32 eligible public schools selected from 5 central Texas independent school districts. Students recruited through verbal & written invitation in core classes. Student assent & parent passive/active consent.

Response rate: 100% (30/30) schools agreed to participate, 72% students (2,841/3,944) participated at baseline

BMI, 7-day PA, sedentary behaviour, MVPA in PE lessons, dietary behaviours, related psychosocial constructs including social support, home availability & accessibility of fruit & vegetables

SOFIT

PE teachers

84 observations from 21 schools, 4 randomly selected PE classes (2 × 6th grade & 2 × 7th grade classes)

NR

High Schools

Bronikowski et al. 2005 [23] Non-randomised trial

School: 1 junior school

Students: NR, 4 children measured per PE class

13 years. Sex, ethnicity & SES NR

Poznan, Poland

To analyse & present differences between the 2 Polish systems of physical education (3 PE classes/week & 4 PE classes/week)

Group A = 3 PE classes/week; Group B = 4 PE classes/week

Recruitment: students recruited within school, parents provided informed consent

Response rate: NR

Health related fitness (volume & intensity of PA in PE classes)

HR monitoring

Two PE class schedules of 3 & 4 lessons of PE per week, 45 min each

2002–04

First half of 2002/03 4 PE classes per week (71 classes)

Second half of 2003/04 3 PE classes per week (78 classes); separate classes for boys & girls

Athletics, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, gymnastics jumps, table tennis, motor fitness tests, aerobic, football, other team sports (e.g., floor ball & soft ball)

Chow et al. 2009 [45] Cross-sectional Study

Schools: 30 schools (6% of the countries co-educational school, 10% of boys only & 10% of girls only schools)

Students: NR. Class size 5–55, mean 32.8 (9.01)

63 classes in 7th grade

49 classes in 8th grade

62 classes in 9th grade

42 classes in 10th grade

6 classes in 11th grade

16 classes in 12th grade

Class size = 32.8 (9.01) students. Age, Sex, SES & ethnicity NR

Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories, Hong Kong

To measure student physical activity, lesson context, & teacher behaviour during physical education lessons in a representative sample of secondary schools in Hong Kong, & assess the influence of class gender composition & other environmental factors (e.g., lesson location, activity areas size, class size) on students’ physical activity levels during those lessons

Group A = all PE lessons (no intervention)

Recruitment: NR

Response rate: NR

Student PA, lesson context, teacher behaviour

SOFIT

65 PE specialists (38 men, 27 women), mean (SD) age 34.4 (8.5) years old, teaching experience 12 (8.4) years

December 2005-May 2006

238 observations each from 123 classes (mean time 57.1 min, range 19–100), randomly selected days

Team activities/sports (basketball, soccer, volleyball, team handball, rugby) individual activities/sports (gymnastics, badminton), expressive activities (dance, rope skipping), other content (fitness training, physical fitness), free play activities

Conley et al. 2011 [26] Pre-post intervention trail

School: 2 co-educational Year 7 PE classes

Students: 37 participants

12.6 ± 0.4 years; 40.5% males. SES & ethnicity NR

Victoria, Australia

To explore whether children can identify time spent in MVPA, & investigate whether heart rate biofeedback would improve children’s ability to estimate time spent in MVPA

Group A = results from 1 pre-intervention lesson

Recruitment: students recruited within school, children & their legal guardians provided written informed consent

Response rate: NR

Heart rate measured minutes MVPA, height weight, self-estimated time in MVPA

HR monitoring

PE teachers, responsible for lesson planning & delivery, lesson & teaching variation controlled by combing 2 PE classes for the study

Term II (Apr-Jun) during schools recreational fitness PE unit

1 × 70- min pre-intervention PE lesson (~55 min practical PE) included in this analysis;

Overall 8 PE lessons monitored over 7 weeks (3 lesson scheduled per 2 weeks)

Circuit lesson: 10 min warm up game, circuit activity stations (running, jumping, hopping, stepping)

Dudley et al. 2012a [39] & Dudley et al. 2012b [40] Baseline cross-sectional study/Longitudinal study

School: 6 schools (2 co-educational, 2 boys-only, 2 girls-only), Year 7 PE classes at baseline, Year 8 PE classes at 1 year follow-up

Student: NR, 4 children per class (n = 81 lessons at baseline; 51 at follow-up) randomly selected to be observed

12.8 (0.5) years; 55% girls; 38% spoke English as main language at home; 60% resided in suburbs in the 5 deciles of greatest socioeconomic disadvantage. Ethnicity NR

South-West Sydney, NSW, Australia

Dudley et al. 2012a - To determine the levels of PA, lesson context & teacher interaction students receive during PE in secondary schools in NSW, Australia

Dudley et al. 2012b - To examine the percentage of class time spent participating in PA, lesson context & teacher interaction during secondary school PE & how those variables changed over time from Year 7 to Year 8

Group A = baseline Year 7 results; Group B = follow-up Year 8 results

Recruitment: Collected from PALDC project. School identified by NSW Department of Education & Communities (high & linguistically diverse backgrounds). All identified schools/Year 7 students invited to participate (follow-up in Year 8)

Response rate: >99%,

658 students consented to demographic data taken; 504 (77%) at follow-up

PA levels, lesson instruction content, school type

SOFIT

All PE teachers at the 6 schools, PE teachers given <1 week noticed of PE lesson to be monitored, mean of 24 students/class

Baseline Jul-Dec 2008; Follow-up Jul-Dec 2009

81 PE lessons monitored at baseline over 5 months (3 randomly selected PE lessons on 3 separate days for each class at each school), 51 PE lessons monitored at follow-up

NR

Fairclough et al. 2005 [12, 19]& Fairclough et al. 2006 [20] b Quasi-experimental RCT

School: 1 c-educational high schools, 2 Year 7 girls PE classes (30 students each)

Students: 33 girls consented (11–12 years old), data analysed on 26 girls, 4 girls/class monitored with SOFIT

~12.4 ± 0.3 years; 100% girls. ethnicity & SES NR

Merseyside (North-West England), England

Fairclough et al. 2005 - To examine whether a teaching intervention could enhance girls’ physical education levels. To assess whether the intervention compromised the attainment of planned lesson objectives, & levels of intrinsic motivation & perceived competence

Fairclough et al. 2006 - To increase cardio respiratory health-enhancing physical activity levels during girls’ gymnastics lessons by manipulating the lesson contexts & teacher behaviours, & to achieve this without compromising other planned lesson objectives

Group A = baseline intervention data; Group B = baseline control data

Recruitment: students recruited within school, informed written consent provided

Response rate: 55% of students (33/60)

Anthropometric, PA levels in PE, psychological characteristics (intrinsic motivation & perceived competence), teacher evaluations

SOFIT & HR monitoring

1 male & 1 female specialist physical education teachers, > 4 years teaching experience, teachers took usual class

1 × 2 h period/week, classes taught in mixed-ability, single sex groups (30–32 students per class). Actual lesson length 82.4 min (control) & 76.0 min (intervention).

6 unit lesson observed in the intervention & control groups. Only 1 baseline lesson for intervention & control groups included in this analysis

Gymnastic lessons

Ferriera et al. 2014 [24] Cross-sectional study

Schools: 3 Portuguese public schools

Student: 191 students (12–17 years old)

14.55 ± 1.79 years; 51% male. SES & ethnicity NR

Castelo Branco district, Portugal

To determine the amount of MVPA undertaken during a PE class by using an accelerometer, & to verify if the recorded values are in line with the recommended guidelines

Group A = all PE lessons (no intervention)

Recruitment: students recruited within school, informed written consent provided by parent/guardian & the school director

Response rate: NR

PE class MVPA according to age & gender

Accelerometer

Specialised physical activity educator

2007/08

1 × 90 min PE class/week examined for each school, 6 × 10 min exercises + 30 min instruction/organisation & bathing/changing clothes

Team ball sports (football, handball & basketball), held in outdoor space

Hannon et al. 2005 [21] Pre-post cross over trial

School: 1 Coeducational middle school, 2 PE classes, 9th & 10th grade

Student: 78 students

47% male; predominately Caucasian & middle class; age NR

North Florida, USA

To compare activity levels, as measured by pedometer step counts per minute, of high school males & females participating in coeducational & single gender flag football game play, & investigate high school girls’ views of participation in co-educational & single gender flag football play

Group A = coeducational lesson; Group B = single gender lesson

Recruitment: students recruited within school, parents provided informed written consent

Response rate: 100%

PA in PE class

Pedometer

2 PE teachers. 1 × male with 8 years of experience, 1 × female with 14 years of experience

~45 min classes, Single gender & coeducational classes

Flag play (incl. warm up exercises, 10 min skill drills, 20–25 min game). Pedometer only worn for 20 min game

How et al. 2013 [33] RCT

School: 1 independent school, 8 × Year 8 PE classes (4 male classes, 4 female classes)

Students: 257

12.91 (0.29) years. Sex, ethnicity & SES NR

Western Australia, Australia

To examine whether students within an intervention group, who were provided with choice within PE, reported greater autonomous motivation, more favourable perceptions of autonomy support, & displayed higher in-class PA level than those within a control condition

Group A = Regular PE control group

Recruitment: letter sent to parents with passive consent form to withdraw consent. Students provided consent before the study began Response rate: NR

PA levels, PE motivation, autonomy supportive lessons

Accelerometer

4 PE teachers, attended 40 min briefing before study

60 min PE time allocated, ~40 min PA for each lesson

Netball, tennis & tee-ball

Kremer et al. 2012 [41] Cross-sectional study

Schools: 8 secondary schools (16 schools total)

Students:84 secondary school students (272 students total), 4 students from each class (2 male, 2 female) randomly selected to be observed during 3 classes

Demographics from primary & secondary schools - 14.3 (2.8) years; 50.2% female; 72.6% white skin colour. SES NR

City of Pelotas, Southern Brazil (South of the state Rio Grande do Sul)

To evaluate the intensity & duration of physical efforts in PE classes in primary & secondary school

Group A = 1st secondary school; Group B = 2nd secondary school; Group C = 3rd secondary school

Recruitment: list of city’s school obtained, 11 primary & 8 secondary schools drawn, stratified by teaching network (3 primary & secondary schools coincided)

Response rate: 100% of schools. Students response rate NR

BMI, MVPA in PE lessons

Accelerometer

NR

Measured Aug-Dec 2009

218 classes total, number of secondary school lessons observed NR

NR

Lonsdale et al. 2013 [28, 54] & Rosenkranz et al. 2012 [30] Cluster RCT

Schools: 5 schools (2 independent & 3 Catholic schools), 8th grade, 3 schools provided 4 classes, 2 schools provided 2 classes

Students: 288 total

13.6 years; 50.4% male. SES & ethnicity NR

Sydney, Australia

To examine the effects of 3 SDT-based motivational strategies on PA & sedentary behaviour, as well as their hypothesized antecedents during PE lessons

Group A = baseline data for control/usual practice; Group B = baseline data for intervention ‘relevance’; Groups C = baseline data for intervention ‘providing choice’; Group D = baseline data for intervention ‘free choice’

Recruitment: 20 schools incited to join (9 declined due to time constraints, 5 didn’t respond, 1 was unable to participate due to PE teacher injury). All principals, PE teachers& parents provided written consent

Response rate: 80.67% completed baseline assessment, 85.01% completed follow-up (245/288)

PA, MVPA, & student motivation during PE class, sedentary behaviour, perceptions of teacher support, psychological needs satisfactions

Accelerometer

16 PE teachers

Oct-Dec 2013

Differing duration of PE lesson, PA data collected in first 20 min of lesson

Dance, netball, touch rugby

Owen et al. 2013 [44] Cross-sectional study

School: 1 independent Catholic boys school, Year 9 students

Students: 131 participants, complete data in 61 students

14.36 (0.48) years; 100% male. SES & ethnicity NR

Sydney, Australia

To investigate how much of the observed variation in adolescent boys MVPA levels (during PE & leisure time) was explained by individual- & class-level motivation

Group A = all PE lessons (no intervention)

Recruitment: students recruited within school, parents provided informed written consent

Response rate: 131/180 students enrolled (72.8%), 61/131 students provided complete data (46.6%)

MVPA in PE lessons, motivation towards PE in lessons, motivation towards PA in leisure time

Accelerometer

NR

NR

NR

Sanders et al. 2014 [25] Cross-sectional study

School: 1 Catholic boys schools, 6 PE classes, Year 9

Students: 133 students, analysis on 74 students

14.36 (0.48) years; 22.36 kg/m2; 100% male. SES & ethnicity NR

Sydney, Australia

To compare i) adolescent boys’ PA bout length in 2 PA contexts; leisure time & PE lessons, & ii) the effect of varying accelerometer epoch length on estimates of MVPA, VPA, MPA, LPA & sedentary behaviour in both contexts

Group A = all PE lessons (no intervention)

Recruitment: students recruited within school, students provided voluntary written assent

Response rate: 74% of participants consented (133/180), analysis on 74/133 (56%)

MVPA, VPA, MPA, LPA & sedentary behaviour during PE lessons & leisure time

Accelerometer

Regular school PE teacher

12 PE lessons (2 lessons per class × 6 classes)

Soccer

Scruggs et al. 2010a [46] Cross-sectional study

School: 3 high schools

Students: 189 students

16.74 (0.99) years; 43.9% male; 169.11 ± 9.10 cm; 67.08 ± 13.02 kg/m2; 8.65% obese; 16.76% overweight. SES & ethnicity NR

Upper mid-western USA

To compare the relative & absolute agreement between W4L DUO & Yamax SW651 pedometers on the measure of steps/min & the W4L DUO & observed PA time (min) in high school PE

Group A = YAMAX SW651 Pedometer used to measured MVPA; Group B = W4L DUO pedometer used to measure MVPA; Group C = SOFIT used to measure MVPA

Recruitment: within the schools (<18 year old students provided parental consent, >18 year old students provided personal consent)

Response rate: NR

Steps/min, physical activity time

Pedometer & SOFIT

3 certified PE practitioners representing urban, suburban & rural communities

12 PE classes collected during 16 lessons. Both pedometer measures & SOFIT recorded on the same lesson. Traditional 50 min scheduled lesson (36.72 (4.42) min); Block 90 min scheduled lesson (76.19 (4.17) min)

NR

Scruggs et al. 2010b [47] Cross-sectional study

Schools: 6 high schools (5 public, 1 private), 27 PE classes, 9th-12th grade

Students: 218 students (16 students/class wore a pedometer)

16.52 (1.08) years; 169.61 (9.23) cm; 67.44 (12.69) kg; 23.41 (3.99) kg/m2; 49.5% male; 15% non-Caucasian. SES NR

Upper mid-western USA

To quantify the recommended minimum level (i.e., 50% of the class time) of MVPA within high school PE via pedometry/min, and to explore the influence of lesson duration (i.e., traditional v’s block schedules) on quantifying MVPA via steps/min

Group A = all PE lessons (no intervention)

Recruitment: within the schools (<18 year old students provided parental consent, >18 year old students provided personal consent)

Response rate: NR

Steps/min, % time engaged in MVPA, time engaged in MVPA

Pedometer

10 certified physical educators

27 PE classes (traditional class 45–50 min; block class 90 min), 40 PE lessons (30 traditional; 10 block). Traditional lesson 36.88 (4.07) min; block lesson 78.56 (5.08) min

Block lessons: dance, invasion game & fitness course themes.

Traditional lessons: Fielding, invasion & net wall games, dance/gymnastics, fitness course, ropes/team building themes

Surapiboonchai et al. 2012 [43] Cross-sectional study (validation study)

School: 6 schools, grades 3,5,6,7,8,9,10 (only grade 6–10 examined in this review)

Students: 281 students total (all grades); HR = 36 (24 students from middle & high school); SAM = 281 (high & middle school students NR)

Grade 6: 12.33 (1.16) years, 20.0 (5.66) kg/m2

Grade 7: 12.00 (0.01) years, 34.67 (4.51) kg/m2

Grade 8: 13.86 (0.90) years, 24.40 (4.04) kg/m2

Grade 9: 14.13 (0.35) years, 35.17 (7.89) kg/m2

Grade 10: 15.00 (0.01) years, 40.50 (3.25) kg/m2

Whole student sample demographics - 50% male; 92% economically disadvantaged’ 89.5% Hispanic, 7.4% African American, 2.7% White

San Antonio, Texas, USA

To develop, validate & test the reliability of the Simple Activity Measurement (SAM) instrument for assessing student MVPA during school PE classes related to the potential for evaluating the achievement of ≥ 50% of PE class time spent in MVPA

Group A = all PE lessons (no intervention)

Recruitment: parent or student consent not required as this area was required as a part of general PE curriculum.

Response rate: NR

MVPA in PE lessons

SAM Tool (observational tool)

PE teachers

late fall 2009

6 PE classes observed with SAM tool; 45–50 min lessons (17–62 students per class)

Variety of PE units including basketball, handball & fitness conditioning

Vidoni et al. 2012 [31] Single subject multi-element study

School:1 Kindergarten – year 12 public school, 8th grade only assessed, 1 PE class

Students: 18 students

13 -14 years old; 55.6% male; middle class SES. Ethnicity NR

Midwestern, USA

To investigate the effects of a group dependent contingency strategy called Fair Play Game on students’ heart rates in PE lessons

Group A = Baseline results only (4 days of lessons)

Recruitment: within school, parental, teacher & student consent obtained

Response rate: NR

MVPA in PE lessons, heart rate, social validity

HR monitoring

Male PE teacher, 20 years teaching experience, 14 years teaching & coaching basketball at study school

Every lesson for 15 days, 35 min lesson (5 min warm-up, 15 min practice drills, 12 min game, 3 min closure)

Only baseline (4 days of lessons) results included

Basketball

Wang et al. 2005 [22] Cross-sectional study

School: 1 school, 7th grade, co-educational PE classes

Students: 28 students

12.5 years (boys) & 12.1 years (girls); 50% male; 1.51–17.6 cm; 40–80 kg; 17.1–28.9 kg/m2. SES & ethnicity NR

Northern Portugal

To use a new heart rate monitor to investigate Portuguese 7th grade students’ PA levels during the different indoor PE classes

Group A = 90 min lesson; Group B = 45 min lesson

Recruitment: School recruitment NR. Students randomly selected from a total sample of 264 students

Response rate: NR

PA levels during indoor PE classes

HR monitoring

PE educators, 25–45 years old

14 indoor PE classes (7 × 45 min & 7 × 90 min classes)

Football, basketball, handball, volleyball, gymnastics, & skill evaluation (all indoor setting 900 m2)

Young et al. 2006 [35] RCT

School: 1 all-girls public high school, 9th grade

Student: 221 girls

13.8 ± 0.5 years; 100% female; 83.0% African American, 56.3% of girls’ mothers had a high school education. SES NR

Baltimore Magnet High School, USA

To test the effectiveness of a life skills-orientated PA intervention, conducted in PE class by a teacher hired by the project, for increasing PA & fitness in 9th grade girls

Group A = standard PE class (control).

Recruitment: parent & student orientation meetings, mass mailings to parents, classroom presentations to student. Students recruited over 3 successive years. Informed consent from parent/legal guardian.

Response rate: 50% (221/442), 95% retention

Self-report daily PA, self-report sedentary activities, cardiorespiratory fitness, CVD risk factors (e.g., BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure)

SOFIT (modified version)

Certified PE teachers at the school (control only)

Baseline measures in Sept

81 total PE classes (41 control), 45 min class lesson

Individual & team sports (e.g., basketball). Specific sports NR

  1. PA physical activity, SOFIT System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time, HR Heart rate, yrs years, MVPA moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, PE physical education, NR not reported, NSW New South Wales, SSR Small Screen Recreation, PALDC Physically Active in Linguistically Diverse Communities, BMI Body Mass Index, incl. including, SDT Self-Determination Theory, TAAG Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls, VPA vigorous physical activity, MPA moderate physical activity, LPA light physical activity, min minutes, RCT Randomised Controlled Trial, CVD cardiovascular disease, e.g., for example. i.e., that is
  2. aSenate Bill 42 required middle-school children in Texas to participate in 30 min MVPA/day or a minimum of 135 min/week or 225 min/fortnight. Children must also participate in PE for 4/6 semester middle school cycles
  3. bWas not pooled into a meta-analysis as only one lesson observed and hence no mean (SD) is reported