Impact of Outdoor Play Structures on Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity in Children during Recess: A Comparative Study

Background/Objectives: It is believed that outdoor play structures lead to more physical activity for kids during school recess. However, the intensity of this activity remains unknown. This study explored whether access to outdoor play structures during recess interferes with children’s physical activity levels.

Methods: Forty-one children (8–10 years old) accessed play structures during the afternoon recess but not in the morning for one entire week. To control for temperature differences, the same number of participants from another school who did not access playground structures were invited to participate. Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) was determined using heart rate reserve. Heart rate was recorded using the Fitbit Inspire 2 (San Francisco, CA, USA) for at least three full school days. Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann–Whitney U tests analyzed within- and between-group differences.

Results: The findings show no difference in MVPA when accessing or not accessing outdoor play structures, both within groups [(n = 37) median (25th–75th) 16 min (7–30) vs. 14 min (5–22)] and between groups [(n = 22) 16 min (7–26)]. The weekly MVPA for all participants (n = 59) [172 min (117–282)] was the strongest variable associated with MVPA during recess [t(df) = 5.40 (38), 95% CI 0.04–0.09, p < 0.001].

Conclusion: accessibility to outdoor play structures does not increase MVPA during recess in children aged 8 to 10. Therefore, schools may need various options for children to play during recess, allowing them to accumulate MVPA.