The Effects of Children's Choice of Exercise on a 2-mile Run Bout

Obesity and overweight status continue to be important public health concerns across the globe. According to the World Health Organization (2021), more than 340 million children ages 5-19 years are either overweight or obese. As suggested by the CDC (2021), one way to combat overweight and obesity is to engage in 60 minutes of physical activity per day, which could include running. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of children's choice of exercise on a 2-mile run bout. Seven children chose either the ?choice? group or ?running? group. They spent 60 minutes, twice a week for 10 weeks engaged in their activity choice. Data showed that while there was some fluctuation between groups with regard to the number of steps taken across the study period, both groups improved their 2- mile run times at the end of 10 weeks. Results suggest that children need to be in a structured physical activity program in order to increase levels of physical activity. Ensuring children have at least 60 minutes of time to engage in physical activity and giving children choices of activities, may help them to increase their participation in physical activity and maintain a healthy weight.