purpose
Evidence is emerging from school-based studies that physical activity might favorably affect children’s academic performance.
However, there is a need for high-quality studies to support this. Therefore, the main
objective of the Active Smarter Kids (ASK) study is to investigate the effect of daily physical activity on children’s
academic performance.
the project group
The management team at Sogn og Fjordane University Collage is consisting of Project Manager Sigmund A. Anderssen and Project Coordinator Geir K. Resaland. The project is cooperation between SFUC, the four school regions of Sogn og Fjordane and municipalities in the county. Furthermore, a number of national and international partners are involved in the project.
Design
The ASK study is a seven months cluster-randomized parallel group controlled trial, with random allocation at the school level with a 1:1 ratio. In total, 1129 fifth-grade children from 57 elementary schools in Sogn og Fjordane County, Norway, were cluster-randomized by school either to the intervention group or to the control group. The children in the 28 intervention schools participated in a physical activity intervention between November 2014 and June 2015.
intervention
The ASK intervention consists of three components (in total 165 min/week). In order to optimize adherence, these were established as part of the mandatory school curriculum for all children attending I-schools:
1) ASK physically active educational lessons (3×30 min each week)
2) ASK brain breaks
(5 min×5 days each week).
3) ASK physical activity homework
(10 min daily; 5×10 min each week).
