The Daily Mile and children’s physical activity, mental health and educational performance: a quasi-experimental study in Greater London primary schools

TL;DR

This study examines if a school-based physical activity program called The Daily Mile improves children's physical activity, mental health, and academic performance in London primary schools.

Contribution

The study provides a quasi-experimental evaluation of The Daily Mile's impact on young children's activity levels and academic outcomes.

Findings

The Daily Mile pupils spent 2.2 minutes more in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Daily Mile pupils spent less time sedentary and more time in light activity, but these differences were also not significant.

No significant differences were found in mental health or educational performance between the groups.

Abstract

To examine associations between The Daily Mile, a school-based active mile intervention, and pupils’ physical activity, mental health and educational performance.

Year 1 pupils (aged 5–6 years) from Greater London primary schools were invited. Schools were allocated to The Daily Mile or non-Daily Mile group based on their reported Daily Mile participation. We measured weekday school hours mean minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using GENEActiv accelerometers. Other outcomes included time spent sedentary and in light activity, mental health and educational performance. Multi-level linear regression models examined differences accounting for repeated measurements (day) clustered by pupils-, class- and school-level, with adjustments for sex, ethnic group, area-level deprivation and month of assessment.

A total of 1004 pupils/40 schools were recruited and assessed between October 2021 and January 2023; 21 schools/499 pupils comprised The Daily Mile group; 19 schools/505 pupils the non-Daily Mile group. Daily Mile pupils spent 2.2 min more in MVPA compared with non-Daily Mile pupils, but the difference was not significant (0.78, 95% CI −2.14 to 3.69). Daily Mile pupils spent less time sedentary and more time in light activity compared with the non-Daily Mile pupils, but not significantly (−5.06, 95% CI −15.37 to 5.26 and 3.27, 95% CI −4.26 to 10.81, respectively). There were no differences in mental health or educational performance.

We found no associations between The Daily Mile and pupils’ physical activity, mental health and educational performance. Pupils in our study were in year 1 with early exposure to the intervention; assessments over longer periods are needed to understand any benefits.

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