Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Purpose: Many children do not do enough physical activity, increasing their risk of poor health and weight gain. Physical education courses at school provide children with some activity, but this is not enough. Some Canadian provinces have daily physical activity (DPA) policies with rules about the amount of time children must be active each day. The purpose of this study was to determine if these policies are being used, and how effective they have been. Methods: We searched scientific databases, reference lists, and websites from research centers for studies that had investigated adoption (how policies were developed), implementation (were policies used) or impact (were policies effective) of Canadian DPA policies. Articles were included if they were original research studies published in scientific journals in English or French, and if they studied adoption, implementation or impact of DPA policies in Canadian schools. Of the 917 articles found, 29 were relevant and were read in full by 2 independent reviewers. Thirteen articles met all inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Results: One study assessed adoption of DPA policies. Eight papers evaluated whether schools implemented DPA policies, most often through surveys. Results showed that some aspects of DPA policies were implemented, and others were not. Nine papers studied the impact of DPA policies on children's physical activity levels and body weights using step counters and surveys. These studies suggested that Canadian DPA policies have had little to no impact on children's physical activity levels and body weights. We could not make firm conclusions because of the small number of studies and differences among them. Conclusions: This study suggests that Canadian DPA policies have not been fully implemented and have had little to no impact on children's physical activity levels and body weights. These results can help create more effective physical activity policies for children.