Using Video Direct Observation to Assess Children’s Physical Activity During Recess

Purpose: Traditional direct observation cannot provide continuous, individual-level physical activity (PA) data throughout recess. This study piloted video direct observation to characterize children’s recess PA overall and by sex and weight status. Methods: Children (N = 23; 11 boys; 6 overweight; third to fifth grade) were recorded during 2 recess periods, coding for PA duration, intensity, location, and type. Duration of PA type and intensity across sex and weight status overall and between/within locations were assessed using 1- and 2-way analysis of variances. Results: The field elicited more sedentary behavior (39% of time) and light PA (17%) and less moderate to vigorous PA (41%) compared with the fixed equipment (13%, 7%, and 71%, respectively) or the court (21%, 7%, and 68%, respectively). Boys engaged in significantly more vigorous-intensity activity on the court (35%) than girls (14%), whereas girls engaged in more moderate to vigorous PA on the fixed equipment (77% vs 61%) and field (46% vs 35%) than boys (all Ps > .05). PA type also differed by sex and weight status. Conclusion: Video direct observation was capable of detecting and characterizing children’s entire recess PA while providing valuable context to the behavior. The authors confirmed previous findings that PA intensity was not uniform by schoolyard location and further differences exist by sex and weight status.