Playground activities and gender variation in objectively measured physical activity intensity in Australian primary school children: a repeated measures study.

Background: Recent studies have sought to address the limited time for physical activity by focusing on increasing physical activity intensity among students during non-curricula periods and specifically school break times. We objectively measured the intensity of student physical activity (PA) during recess and lunch breaks at primary schools in the Western Sydney region of New South Wales (NSW), Australia using a 12-month repeated measures observation design study.

Methods: Systematic direct observation of recess and lunch breaks over a ten-week period in 2014 and 2015.