The Daily Mile: 15 Minutes Running Improves the Physical Fitness of Italian Primary School Children

Paolo Riccardo Brustio, Anna Mulasso, Danilo Marasso, Camilla Ruffa, Andrea Ballatore, Paolo Moisè, Corrado Lupo, Alberto Rainoldi and Gennaro Boccia
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Paolo Riccardo Brustio: NeuroMuscular Function Research Group, School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, 10143 Turin, Italy
Anna Mulasso: NeuroMuscular Function Research Group, School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, 10143 Turin, Italy
Danilo Marasso: School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, SUISM, University of Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Camilla Ruffa: School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, SUISM, University of Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Andrea Ballatore: School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, SUISM, University of Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Paolo Moisè: School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, SUISM, University of Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Corrado Lupo: NeuroMuscular Function Research Group, School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, 10143 Turin, Italy
Alberto Rainoldi: NeuroMuscular Function Research Group, School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, 10143 Turin, Italy
Gennaro Boccia: NeuroMuscular Function Research Group, School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, 10143 Turin, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-10

Abstract: The Daily Mile™ is an innovative school-based intervention that requires children to run or jog outside for 15 min at a self-selected pace during class time. Today, only one study has investigated the efficacy of The Daily Mile on physical fitness, which was conducted with Scottish children. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of The Daily Mile in Italian primary schools. A total of 486 children participated in The Daily Mile for 3 months (experimental group), whereas 309 children continued their daily school routine (control group). The 6-min run test, standing long jump, body mass index, and waist-to-height ratio were assessed. Their teachers completed surveys for assessing the intervention acceptability. After correction for age and gender, significant group × time interactions were observed in the 6-min run test and standing long jump results. In the post-test period, the experimental group showed improvement in the 6-min run test and standing long jump results. Overall, the teachers were satisfied with the program and found it suitable for their school context and easy to implement. The Daily Mile was successfully implemented and smoothly accepted in the day routine of Italian primary schools.

Keywords: active break; school-based intervention; health promotion; healthy lifestyle; physical activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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