The impact of Playworks on students' physical activity during recess: Findings from a randomized controlled trial

•We conducted the first-ever randomized controlled trial of the Playworks program.•Data were collected using accelerometers, student surveys, and teacher surveys.•Teachers in Playworks schools reported that their students were more active.•Other measures showed no impacts or marginally significant impacts of Playworks.•Additional efforts could investigate ways to make Playworks more effective.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of Playworks on students' physical activity during recess.MethodTwenty-seven elementary schools from six U.S. cities were grouped into blocks and randomly assigned to implement Playworks (treatment) or not (control) during an entire school year (either 2010–2011 or 2011–2012). Study data were collected at the end of the school year only. Fourth- and 5th-grade students (n = 2278) reported on their physical activity during recess, and a subset (n = 1537) wore accelerometers during recess. Teachers (n = 111) also reported on their students' physical activity during recess.ResultsA significantly higher percentage of teachers in treatment schools reported that their students engaged in an intense physical activity during recess (p = 0.01). Marginally significant differences between treatment and control groups were found for the mean number of accelerometer intensity counts recorded per minute during recess (p = 0.10) and the mean percentage of time spent in vigorous physical activity during recess (p = 0.07). No significant differences were found for student reports about their physical activity during recess (p = 0.92).ConclusionTeachers in Playworks schools reported that students were more active during recess, but accelerometer and student survey measures showed either no impacts or marginally significant impacts.