BACKGROUND: "Outdoor school" is a method, which moves the teaching out into the open. There has been little research into the relationship between outdoor school, physical activity and improved fitness. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We have compared the level of activity (measured as heart rate) in a class of sixth-grade pupils during an ordinary school day and a day outdoors. The pupils' heart rates were measured during the entire school day. RESULTS: The average heart rate for the pupils was 104 beats/minute during an ordinary school day and 136 beats/minute during a day outdoors. The average percentage of time with a heart rate >or= 160 beats/minute was 5 % for an ordinary school day and 18 % for a day outdoors (p < 0.001). INTERPRETATION: Outdoor school can result in a significant increase in physical activity compared to the level on ordinary school days. Thus, the organisation of outdoor school days may have a positive effect on pupils' aerobic capacity, which is an important factor in physical fitness.
BACKGROUND: "Outdoor school" is a method, which moves the teaching out into the open. There has been little research into the relationship between outdoor school, physical activity and improved fitness. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We have compared the level of activity (measured as heart rate) in a class of sixth-grade pupils during an ordinary school day and a day outdoors. The pupils' heart rates were measured during the entire school day. RESULTS: The average heart rate for the pupils was 104 beats/minute during an ordinary school day and 136 beats/minute during a day outdoors. The average percentage of time with a heart rate >or= 160 beats/minute was 5 % for an ordinary school day and 18 % for a day outdoors (p < 0.001). INTERPRETATION: Outdoor school can result in a significant increase in physical activity compared to the level on ordinary school days. Thus, the organisation of outdoor school days may have a positive effect on pupils' aerobic capacity, which is an important factor in physical fitness.
Authors: Mikkel Bo Schneller; Scott Duncan; Jasper Schipperijn; Glen Nielsen; Erik Mygind; Peter Bentsen Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2017-05-26 Impact factor: 3.295