The effect of HOPSports Brain Breaks® on physical fitness and attitudes towards physical activity on grade 6-learners

Abstract

Various researchers have reported that negative attitudes towards physical activity (PA) influence the PA levels of children, and whether or not they will be physically active. Moreover, several researches have been conducted which indicate that children‟s PA levels have the propensity to decline between the ages of 12- to 15-years. Research has subsequently confirmed the positive relationship that exists between inactivity and obesity and how it negatively impacts the development of children‟s physical skills. The aim of this study was firstly to determine the effect of a three month HOPSports Brain Breaks® intervention programme on the attitudes of Grade 6-learners towards physical activity and fitness; and secondly to determine whether a three month HOPSports Brain Breaks® intervention programme will increase the physical fitness levels of Grade 6-learners. To determine the first objective of the study, the Attitudes towards Physical Activity Scale (APAS) questionnaire was used. A total of 114 children (aged 11 to 12 years) participated in this study, whereas 75 children (44 boys and 31 girls) was part of the experimental group and 39 children (12 boys and 27 girls) in the control group. The mean age for the experimental group was 11.4 years (±0.54) and for the control group 11.71 years (± 0.49). The second objective was determined by the EUROFIT test battery and included 122 participants where 79 children (26 boys, 47 girls) were part of the experimental group with a mean age of 11.85 (±0.38), and 47 children (16 boys, 33 girls) in the control group with a mean age of 12.02 years (±0.31). The mean age for the total group was 11.92 years (±0.36). SPSS for Windows (2016) was used to process the data of this study. An independent t-test was conducted to determine the differences between the two groups‟ attitudes towards physical activity and fitness, as well as to determine whether their physical fitness levels had improved. Secondly, paired-samples t-tests were used to determine the difference between each group's pre- and post-tests, whereas the two-way frequency table was used to compare the two groups‟ classification of the EUROFIT. The results of the study indicate that there is a statistical and practical significant difference between the experimental and the control group‟s attitudes towards physical activity; the experimental group reported improvements in their attitudes. The experimental group demonstrated statistically (p≤0.001) and practically significant (d≥0.2) improvements for six of the seven sections of the APAS questionnaire where section three only indicated practical significance difference. The results further indicate that the experimental group‟s physical fitness skills reported statistically and practically significant differences when compared to the control group. The experimental group indicated statistically (p≤0.001) and practically (d≥0.2) improvements for all the physical fitness components of the EUROFIT test as well as improvements in their classifications of the EUROFIT. It is clear from the above results that the HOPSports Brain Breaks® intervention programme could contribute to improve children‟s attitudes towards physical activity as well as to improve their physical fitness skills and activity. Herewith it is recommended to incorporate this programme during class times and PE classes to address the problem of inactivity and the decline in 12-year-old children