Research shows that schools can make a positive impact on children’s nutritional outcomes. However, it is also reported that schools and teaching staff note many barriers, which may restrict nutritional education programming and delivery. This is concerning, considering the view that teachers are the key agents for promoting health and nutrition within schools. The purpose of the updated systematic review and meta-analysis was to ascertain the impact that nutrition education programs have on elementary-aged students’ energy intake, fruit, vegetable, sugar consumption and nutritional knowledge. A systematic literature search was conducted using electronic databases (The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); A + Education; ERIC; PsycINFO; MEDLINE; ProQuest Central, Journals@Ovid and SAGE Health Sciences Full-Text Collection) from 1990 to 31st October 2018. This process yielded 34 studies for inclusion in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Of these studies, seven studies had a focus on energy intake, five had a focus on sugar consumption, 21 of the studies looked at fruit and vegetable consumption and 13 studies focused on nutritional knowledge. The results suggest that the teaching of nutrition education in elementary schools by qualified teachers can make an important contribution to the knowledge and dietary habits of children. The small and medium effect sizes indicate that prudent, evidence-based decisions need to be made by policy makers and pedagogues as to the teaching strategies employed when delivering nutrition education programs to elementary-aged students.

Physical activity levels decline markedly among girls during adolescence. School-based interventions that are multi-component in nature, simultaneously targeting curricular, school environment and policy, and community links, are a promising approach for promoting physical activity. This report describes the rationale, design and baseline data from the Girls in Sport group randomised trial, which aims to prevent the decline in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) among adolescent girls.

Background: Participation in sport and physical activity (PA) leads to better overall health, increased life expectancy, and decreased mortality rates across the lifespan; however, there may be a range of individual, family, and community factors that influence PA participation among ONENA children and adolescents residing in the 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICT) and Australia. This review aimed to synthesise existing quantitative and qualitative literature regarding barriers to and facilitators of PA and sport among ONENA youth. Methods: The literature was systematically searched to include studies reporting barriers to and facilitators of PA and sports participation among ONENA children and adolescents aged 0–18 years residing in the 22 PICT and Australia. Using a pre-established taxonomy based on the social-ecological model, a deductive analysis was performed. Quality appraisal was performed using the mixed methods appraisal tool. Results: Of 1388 articles, 14 studies were included, with 128 ONENA children and adolescent participants across the four qualitative studies; 156,581 ONENA children and adolescents across the seven quantitative studies; 801 parents, children, and adolescents in one quantitative study; and 642 parents in two quantitative studies. Of the 14 included studies, none were based in Australia and only 10 of the 22 PICT were reported as the participants’ residence: Palau, New Zealand, Tonga, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Fiji. Four studies reported barriers, and another four studies reported facilitators of PA and sport, with the remaining studies reporting both barriers and facilitators. Overall, there were more barriers reported (30 in total) than facilitators (27 in total). Conclusions: Research in this area is lacking, with ONENA youth living in Australia and 12 PICT not represented. Overall, there were a larger number of facilitators experienced at individual and interpersonal levels, while barriers were highest at the community level, with the policy level having facilitators and barriers equally represented. Programs that offer PA and sport participation options with embedded SDT-informed strategies for all family members; that are accessible through existing transport and related social, cultural, and physical infrastructure; and that are committed to communities through formal co-design partnerships are needed, to enhance the PA and sport participation of ONENA youth residing in PICT.

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. Systematic direct observation of recess and lunch breaks over a ten-week period in 2014 and 2015. 120 recess and lunch breaks across twenty schools (2014) with 839 periodic observations and across 15 schools with 587 periodic observations in 2015. Both observation periods were conducted over 10-weeks in Term 4 (September – December). The mean proportion of vigorous physical activity reported as a percentage (%VPA) across both time points was 16.6% (SD = 23.4). 36.8% (SD = 26.0) of time was spent walking and the remaining time (46.6%; SD = 30.4) was spent in sedentary activities. There was a significant decline in %VPA and increase in sedentary activity (p < 0.01) between the two time periods of measurement. In 2014, boys spent twice as much time in %VPA than girls during breaks in the school day and in 2015 this increased to nearly three times as much time in %VPA. %VPA also varied on the type of surface PA took place and the types of activities the children were allowed to undertake during breaks. Recess and lunch breaks potentially offer an opportunity for children to participate in unstructured PA during the school day. Substantial variations in the %VPA during these periods exist. Addressing playground gender participation disparities and space usability/accessibility may be a necessary first step in promoting higher PA intensities during breaks.