Scottish Daily Mile ‘should be introduced around the world’ after positive results
● Initiative to improve health boosts fitness and body composition
Policy-makers across the world should copy a Scottish ‘Daily Mile’ initiative of giving physical activity to primary schools to improve health and fitness of children according to new research.
Experts from the Universities of Stirling and Edinburgh studied the programme which involved children between the ages of four to 12 taking a 15-minute break from class to do exercise.
The research confirmed that The Daily Mile improves fitness, body composition and activity levels in participants.
Findings indicate the initiative can help combat global problems such as low physical activity, high sedentary behaviour, declining fitness levels and high levels of obesity. The study was jointly led by Dr Colin Moran and Dr Naomi Brooks, of the University of Stirling’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, and Dr Josie Booth, of the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education. It also involved a number of other experts from Stirling and the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Dr Moran said: “Our research observed positive changes in children who participated in The Daily Mile intervention, compared to our control school where the scheme was not introduced.
“It suggests that The Daily Mile is a worthwhile intervention to introduce in schools and that it should be considered for inclusion in government policy, both at home and abroad.”
The Daily Mile was founded in 2012 by Elaine Wyllie, the then headteacher of St Ninians Primary School in Stirling, to improve the fitness of her pupils. Children are encouraged to run, jog or walk around their school grounds during a 15-minute break from class, which is in addition to normal intervals and physical education lessons.
Following the scheme’s success, the Scottish Government has outlined its desire for Scotland to become the first Daily Mile nation, with around half of the country’s primary schools implementing the approach.
There has been interest from the UK government and the scheme has attracted the attention of other countries, with the netherlands, belgium and parts of the US among those to have already adopted the approach.
The research team conducted their work at two primary schools within the Stirling Council area, with 391 pupils, aged between four and 12, participating.
Each child underwent an initial assessment and then a follow-up later in the academic year. Between times, one school implemented The Daily Mile, while pupils at the other – known as the control school – followed their usual curriculum. Children wore accelerometers to record their average daily minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and average daily sedentary behaviour.
They also had skinfold measurements taken to check body fat, and were assessed on their performance at a multistage fitness test (known as a shuttle run), where they ran between cones 20 metres apart between bleeps.
After correcting for age and gender, the team saw significant improvements in the intervention school, relative to the control school.
Drbrookssaid:“weobserved a relative increase of 9.1 minutes per day in terms of MPVA and a relative decrease of 18.2 minutes per day in sedentary time.
“Children at the intervention school covered, on average, 39.1 metres more during the shuttle run, while their body composition improved too.”
“Our research observed positive changes in children who participated in The Daily Mile intervention”
DR COLIN MORAN