After-School Garden Club to Provide Physical Activity for Children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children do 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day.  Children in the United States are not meeting this recommendation which is concerning as insufficient time spent being physically active is a risk factor for becoming overweight and the rates of overweight and obesity are continuing to rise.  School gardening programs are increasingly becoming a tool to foster improved student health. While research evidence can be found on the impact of school gardens on children’s food choices it is lacking on gardening’s role in physical activity. The objective of this study was to determine the amount of physical activity that occurs during an after-school garden program for 4^th and 5^th graders. As part of a larger school gardening intervention for overweight and obesity prevention, children participating in an after-school garden club wore an Actigraph accelerometer for one club session in the fall (n=36) and spring (n=25) to obtain an objective measure of physical activity done during a club meeting. Participants wore the accelerometer on a belt around their waist for 1 ½ hours which was the entire duration of a garden club session. Estimates of moderate or vigorous activity levels were predicted to demonstrate the contribution an after-school gardening program can have in helping children meet the physical activity recommendation.