title: Physical activity of children attending afterschool programs: research- and practice-based implications.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Afterschool programs (3PM-6PM; ASPs) are positioned to play a vital role in the improvement of children's daily physical activity. Recent guidelines specify that children should accumulate 4600 steps per day while attending an ASP. The extent to which ASPs currently meet this goal and how many steps per day children naturally accumulate within the ASP setting is unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to describe the pedometer-determined physical activity of a large sample of children attending a diverse range of ASPs and evaluate the extent to which ASPs are meeting current physical activity guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children (N=934, 51% girls, average 8.2 years; range 4-14 years) enrolled across 25 ASPs wore Walk4Life MVPa pedometers (number of steps accumulated, time spent active [hours:minutes:seconds]) up to 4 days. Data were collected in fall/spring 2010-2011 and analyzed in summer 2011.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On average, children attended ASPs for 125 minutes per day, accumulated 2944 steps per day, and spent approximately 26.6 minutes per day in physical activity. Only 16.5% of the 1819 daily observations met the 4600 steps per day guideline. No differences in steps per day, minutes per day in physical activity, or demographics were observed among children measured a single day versus 2, 3, or 4 days. Based on current practice, children would need to spend approximately 3.4 hours per day at an ASP to reach 4600 steps per day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Activity levels in ASPs are well below recommendations. Substantial effort is needed to identify strategies ASPs can employ to ensure children are sufficiently active.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, 29208, USA. beets@mailbox.sc.edu
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Beets
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huberty
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beighle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male