The Daily Mile helps children be more active, significantly increases fitness levels, and improves body composition by reducing body fat.
Research carried out by the Universities of Stirling and Edinburgh and published in BMC Medicine (2018) has concluded that The Daily Mile is an “effective intervention” and has measurable positive health outcomes in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, fitness and body composition of primary school children.
They conducted a quasi-experimental repeated measures pilot study in two primary schools (n=391): One introduced the Daily Mile, and one continued the usual curriculum. They found that in the intervention school MVPA (Moderate to vigorous physical activity) increased by 9 minutes a day, and sedentary time was reduced by 18 minutes. Bleep test results improved by 39m (6% increase) and skinfolds reduced by 1.4mm (4% decreased).
They conclude that the Daily Mile is a worthwhile intervention to introduce into schools. It is effective in increasing levels of MVPA, decreasing sedentary time and improving body composition. These findings have relevance to teachers, policy makers, public health practitioners and health researchers.
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