SCHOOL GUIDELINES FOR PROMOTING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND REDUCING SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
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Abstract
Background
The declining physical activity among Thai students, in contrast to their increasing screen time behavior, has adversely affected their well-being. Schools are therefore vital strategic settings for creating an ecosystem conducive to physical activity.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the state of physical activity promotion, (2) study sedentary behavior, and (3) synthesize guidelines for promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior among secondary school students.
Methods
This study sampled 226 secondary school students from a school in Nonthaburi province. The school was selected through purposive sampling, and students were recruited via multistage stratified cluster sampling. The instrument was a 19-item questionnaire on physical activity promotion and sedentary behavior across 4 parts, with content validity (IOC) of 1.00 and reliability (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.92 for the physical activity promotion subscale and 0.02 for the sedentary behavior subscale; sedentary items were therefore reported individually. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (M, SD), and qualitative data using content analysis.
Results
The state of physical activity promotion in the school was at a moderate level (M=3.30, SD=1.06), with sports fields and swimming pools being the most perceived resources. Sedentary behavior was reported item by item: screen time was the highest risk behavior (M=3.68), while among protective behaviors, taking breaks was high (M=3.27) but engaging in physical activity was the lowest (M=2.56). Students' demands consisted of four issues: promoting diverse activities, providing class breaks, increasing sports competitions, and developing spaces and equipment.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that schools should prioritize enhancing physical activity promotion to be more integrated into students' daily routines, alongside reducing sedentary behavior. These four suggestions reflected by students can be applied to inform school-based health promotion guidelines.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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