Evaluating children’s physical activity, health, and wellbeing: iMprOVE cohort study
Research Team: Dr Bina Ram, Tishya Venkatraman, Dr Dougal Hargreaves, Prof Sonia Saxena, Dr Anna Chalkley, Dr Esther van Sluijs & Prof Russell Viner
Who's involved: University of Cambridge, Imperial College London & UCL
September 2020 - July 2022
The iMprOVE study will investigate changes in physical and mental health, wellbeing and educational attainment of children in primary school that take part in active mile initiatives, such as The Daily Mile™, compared with children in schools that do not.
iMprOVE will be the largest ever study to examine the impact of school-based physical activity initiatives on children’s health and wellbeing across primary school life.
Our findings will add to the evidence for public health policy makers about the long-term health benefits and sustainability of The Daily Mile, which alongside other active mile initiatives is widely promoted in the UK’s Childhood Obesity Plan and Sport England’s guidance. The study will inform national strategies to address child health inequalities and may have direct effects if our findings can identify schools in areas needing more investment for implementation of this intervention.
Teachers and sports coordinators have already started to benefit from the creation of a joint working group that regularly disseminates and supports schools seeking information about evidence and how to adopt The Daily Mile. We have designed and co-produced study materials for iMprOVE by consulting with teachers, parents and children and will continue to disseminate and exchange knowledge and provide opportunities for them to engage with our research.
If our study suggests health and educational benefits by doing The Daily Mile, teachers may be encouraged to support this initiative or other similar active mile initiatives in schools where it is already being done and also encourage non-participating schools to take it up. iMprOVE will result in raised awareness of potential benefits of physical activity and may encourage parents and children to take up more physical activity outside school.
To compare children’s physical activity, mental wellbeing, and educational attainment in primary schools in London that take part in The Daily Mile™ with those that do not.
Active mile initiatives, such as The Daily Mile, are promoted in the UK’s Obesity Prevention Plan. They are designed to allow primary school children to achieve 30 minutes of physical activity during the school day, helping to meet the physical activity recommendations of at least 60 minutes of activity. However, less than half of children in England are meeting these targets, and particularly those in disadvantaged primary school populations in urban areas where physical activity is low.
The Daily Mile, targeted at the whole school, involves every child running or jogging for 15 minutes at least three times a week. We have found that one in five state-funded primary schools in England have registered to do The Daily Mile, and schools in urban areas with a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils are more likely to register. A growing evidence base suggests short-term benefits of The Daily Mile (of up to a year) on children’s fitness. However, there is limited evidence of the impact on children’s mental health and educational attainment and its sustainability throughout primary school.
A longitudinal quasi-experimental cohort study in Greater London. We aim to recruit approximately 3,500 Year 1 primary school children (aged 5 to 6 years), half of whom from Daily Mile schools and half from non-Daily Mile schools. We are using accelerometers to measure mean minutes of daily physical activity and validated questionnaires to assess mental health and educational attainment of the child each year from baseline to the end of primary school.
We have worked with professional and public stakeholders throughout the design stages of the study and will continue to consult with them for the duration of the study. We set up The Daily Mile Research Advisory Group which includes representatives from The Daily Mile Foundation, Sport England, London Marathon and London Sport, and academic researchers. The group meet termly and provide strategic direction and share knowledge.
Key findings will be disseminated to the public through research networks, social, print and media broadcasts, community engagement opportunities and schools. We will work with policy makers for direct application and impact of our findings.
Ram B., van Sluijs E, Chalkley A,. et al. Real-world application of a scalable school-based physical activity intervention: A cross-sectional survey of implementation of The Daily Mile in Greater London primary schools. 2023. PLOS One.
Ram B, Chalkley A, van Sluijs E, et al. Impact of The Daily Mile on children’s physical and mental health and educational attainment in primary schools: iMprOVE cohort study protocol. 2021. BMJ Open.
Venkatraman T, Honeyford K, Ram B, et al. Identifying local authority need for, and uptake of, school-based physical activity promotion in England – a cluster analysis. 2021. Journal of Public Health.
Ram B, Foley KA, van Sluijs E, et al. Developing a core outcome set for physical activity interventions in primary schools: a modified-Delphi study. BMJ Open 2022;12:e061335. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061335
Foley KA, Venkatraman T, Ram B, et al. Protocol for developing a core outcome set for evaluating school-based physical activity interventions in primary schools. 2019. BMJ Open. 9 (12).
Venkatraman T, Honeyford K, Costelloe C, et al. Sociodemographic profiles, educational attainment and physical activity associated with The Daily Mile registration in primary schools in England: a national cross-sectional linkage study. 2020. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
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