title: Comparison of the Effects of Stable and Dynamic Furniture on Physical Activity and Learning in Children.
abstract: We compared the effects of traditional (stable) and non-traditional (dynamic) school furniture on children's physical activity (PA), energy expenditure (EE), information retention, and math skills. Participants were 12 students (8.3 years, 58 % boys) in grades 1-5. Participants wore an Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer (to assess PA), and an Oxycon Mobile indirect calorimetry device (to assess EE) for 40 min (20 min for each session). Each session consisted of a nutrition lecture, multiple choice questions related to the lecture, and grade-appropriate math problems. We used paired t tests to examine differences between the stable and dynamic furniture conditions. Average activity counts were significantly greater in the dynamic than the stable furniture condition (40.82 vs. 9.81, p < 0.05). We found no significant differences between conditions for average oxygen uptake (p = 0.34), percentage of nutrition questions (p = 0.5), or math problems (p = 0.93) answered correctly. Movement was significantly greater in the dynamic than the stable furniture condition, and did not impede information acquisition or concentration. Future studies should compare the long-term effects of traditional and dynamic furniture on health and academic outcomes in schools and other settings.
authors: College of Education and Human Performance, University of Central Florida, 12494 University Boulevard, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA. Jeanette.garcia@ucf.edu.
authors: Jeanette M
authors: JM
authors: Garcia
authors: School of Public Health, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10019, USA.
authors: Terry T
authors: TT
authors: Huang
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA.
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Trowbridge
authors: Kinesiology Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA.
authors: Arthur
authors: A
authors: Weltman
authors: Kinesiology Department, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
authors: John R
authors: JR
authors: Sirard
mesh_terms: D002153:Calorimetry, Indirect; D002648:Child; D004522:Educational Status; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools
keywords: Accelerometer; Energy expenditure; Ergonomics; Health promotion; Physical activity