Contribution of School Recess to Daily Physical Activity: Systematic Review and Evidence Appraisal

Objective: We estimated levels of school recess moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA). Methods: A systematic review was carried out in MEDLINE and SportDiscus to identify observational studies where MVPA had been measured objectively during school recess. Study quality was assessed. Results: Twenty-four eligible studies in primary school pupils (N = 5778), revealed a weighted mean of 12 minutes MVPA per school day. Only 2 eligible studies were identified involving high school pupils (N = 399). The evidence was generally of moderately high quality. Conclusions: Recess makes a small contribution to daily MVPA. Substantial policy effort is likely to be needed if recess is to make a more useful contribution to MVPA among children and adolescents.