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Effects of school-based active breaks on motor competence, physical fitness, academic outcomes, and health behaviors in Chilean preschoolers: protocol for a three-arm, non-randomized cluster-controlled mixed-methods trial
This paper describes a planned school-based active-break study in Chilean preschoolers. It is a protocol, not a report of demonstrated improvements in fitness, learning or health.
What is planned?
The protocol plans to involve 200 children aged five to six across twelve urban public schools in Biobio, Chile. Over sixteen weeks, one group would have ten active breaks per week, another three to five, and a comparison group would continue normal routines. These numbers describe planned participation and activity, not completed enrolment or observed results.
How will outcomes be assessed?
The main planned outcomes are motor competence and health-related physical fitness. Other measures concern learning, sleep, eating behaviour and nutritional status. Quantitative comparisons would be followed by qualitative work on teachers' experiences, aiming to examine both outcomes and implementation.
Why does the design matter?
Schools are not randomly assigned. Differences between schools or participating families could therefore contribute to an apparent difference between groups. The planned cluster-adjusted analysis addresses related measurements within schools, but does not eliminate every selection bias. Some secondary measures are reported by teachers or families rather than measured directly.
What has not been shown?
The protocol does not demonstrate that active breaks improved the listed outcomes or that the programme can be scaled successfully. A completed study would need to report follow-up, adherence, effects, uncertainty and adverse experiences. The authors also note that a learning measure designed for formative assessment has limits for comparative research. This original explanation separates study plans from findings.
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- Paper metadata
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- PMC13642702