Walking Wednesday: A Program to Promote Physical Activity in Elementary Physical Education

There is a need to promote daily physical activity in school-age populations. This preliminary study examined the benefits of a school-based physical activity promotion program, Walking Wednesday, on step counts during Physical Education in elementary students. Step counts were monitored during three consecutive PE classes ( N =144, mean age 10.64 + .62 years). Physical Education Walking Wednesday (PE -Walking Wednesday) required students to complete one mile at their own pace on one day per week before participation in Physical Education. On PE-Tuesday and PE-Thursday participants engaged in a traditional Physical Education lesson. Results indicated participants accumulated an average of 1450 more steps on PE-Walking Wednesday compared to PE-Tuesday and PE-Thursday ( p <.001). Boys accumulated more steps ( p <.001) on PE-Tuesday and PE-Thursday compared to girls. However, no sex differences were present on PE-Walking Wednesday ( p =.460). The PE-Walking Wednesday program led to more physical activity and eliminated sex differences observed in elementary students’ physical activity behavior during PE. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.11.13