The Daily Mile makes children more active and is good for their health and fitness
Article title: The Daily Mile makes primary school children more active, less sedentary and improves their fitness and body composition: A quasi-experimental pilot study.
The Universities of Stirling, Edinburgh and Highlands & Islands investigated the impact The Daily Mile has on children’s fitness and body composition in 2 schools in Stirling, Scotland. They compared a school who introduced The Daily Mile to another which did not (control school).
They found in the school who introduced the initiative:
- Levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) increased (by 9 minutes)
- Sedentary time decreased (by 18 minutes)
- Physical fitness improved (by 5%)
- Body composition improved (4% decrease in body fat)
The study concludes, in primary school children, The Daily Mile is effective at increasing levels of MVPA, reducing sedentary time, increasing physical fitness and improving body composition.
Dr Naomi Brooks, University of Stirling: “This data is consistent with what we would expect to find in children who had been doing The Daily Mile for 4 years, though there are many factors which contribute to body composition and fitness. It also fits with our published results – a 4% reduction in skinfolds measured in children after doing The Daily Mile for 7 months.”
Read the full article online, published in BMC Medicine on 10th May 2018. For more information, download a summary of their findings.