Research on Encouraging Movement

Journal Articles

Progress and Future Directions on Physical Activity Research Among Youth. Research on the determinants and outcomes of physical activity among youth.

New U.S. Report Card Reveals Near-Failing Grade for Physical Activity in Children, Youth. The National Physical Activity Plan Alliance released its 2018 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. While the overall physical activity grade for children and youth remained low, the report card revealed positive signs, especially related to opportunities and infrastructure that supports physical activity in children and youth. The Report Card includes grades for nine specific indicators, individual state data, and recommendations for how grades can be improved.

Systematic review of the relationships between objectively measured physical activity and health indicators in school-aged children and youth. The findings support the importance of at least 60 min/day of moderate to vigorous physical activity for disease prevention and health promotion in children and youth, but also highlight the potential benefits of low-intensity and total physical activity.

Combinations of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep: relationships with health indicators in school-aged children and youth.

Physical Activity for Cognitive and Mental Health in Youth: A Systematic Review of Mechanisms.

Physical activity and cognition in adolescents: A systematic review.

Physical Activity Facts

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled a Physical Activity Facts document using the latest research, guidelines and recommendations for youth.

Yoga for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being: Research Review and Reflections on the Mental Health Potentials of Yoga

This article discusses yoga as a potential tool for children to deal with stress and regulate themselves...(click here to read more)

Evaluation of Yoga for Preventing Adolescent Substance Use Risk Factors in a Middle School Setting: A Preliminary Group-Randomized Controlled Trial

Adolescence is a key developmental period for preventing substance use initiation, however prevention programs solely providing educational information about the dangers of substance use rarely change adolescent substance use behaviors. Recent research suggests that mind–body practices such as yoga may have beneficial effects on several substance use risk factors...(click here to read more)

A Qualitative Examination of Yoga for Middle School Adolescents

This study had 7^th grade students assigned to a yoga intervention or physical education class. Qualitative analyses revealed 13 themes that were organized into two categories: Usability (student perceptions of the usefulness, learnability, and convenience of the yoga intervention) and Effect (student perceptions of the direct results of the yoga intervention)...(click here to read more)

More than just a game: Yoga for school-age children

Yoga is becoming increasingly popular among American children. A national survey found that 3% of U.S. children (1.7 million) did yoga as of 2012 — that’s 400,000 more children than in 2007.

Yoga and mindfulness have been shown to improve both physical and mental health in school-age children (ages 6 to 12)...(click here to read more)