1. Introduction
obesity, muscle mass
OBESITY
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of physically active breaks of a total duration of 10 min a day, introduced during curricular lessons, together with a 10 min physical activity intervention during the daily school recess period on obesity prevention, fitness, cognitive function, and psychological well-being in school-aged children. A sample of 310 children (139 boys vs. 171 girls), aged between 8 and 10 years (9.82 ± 0.51), was selected. Our strategy was implemented over a 6-month period and the participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (In recent years, there has been a change in the lifestyles of various age groups, especially in late childhood. Today’s children, in fact, lead an increasingly sedentary lifestyle which encompasses the time spent by playing video games, using computers/smartphones, and watching television [It has long been known that PA and sport have a positive impact on the physical and mental health of children and young people [The most variable component of daily energy expenditure is that due to the PA. Variations in energy expenditure determine body composition, together with energy intake and energy balance, as the energy imbalance is compensated by the mobilization of body fat or its accumulation. Moreover, considerable changes in PA through immobilization or training influence body composition through changes in muscle mass [From a psycho-physiological perspective, acute PA triggers an increase in the neurotransmitters epinephrine and dopamine and brain-derived neurotrophic factors able to enhance cognitive processes [In this context, the relationship of physical activity and fitness to academic performance is of special interest because physical education programs in schools are required to contribute to the primary mission of schools, i.e., the promotion of academic performance. Current studies have focused on the relationship between PA and the academic performance of school-aged children. A meta-analysis study has demonstrated that, in children, PA participation is associated with better cognitive performance [As detailed above, school time is mainly dedicated to the learning of a series of curricular notions with the result of not having enough time to devote to physical education and sport. Thus, here we wanted to investigate the usefulness of an additional method concerning both the performance of physical activity carried out during recess and also for a short time during curricular lessons dedicated to other disciplines. Therefore, the hypothesis that we wanted to test is that a systematic and structured intervention of physical activity conducted daily at school outside the canonical hours set for this can have recognizable and measurable effects on physiology and psychosocial well-being. Consequently, this study was designed in order to describe changes in body composition, physical fitness, cognitive performance, and psychosocial well-being in school children after a 6-month PA intervention consisting of physically active breaks of a duration of 10 min a day, introduced during curricular lessons, together with a 10 min physical activity intervention during the daily school recess period.