Benefits of Exercise for Children Tested

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Protocol Test Outcomes
As noted above, the purposes of the protocol test were:

Developing and testing a standardized method of evaluating the effectiveness of PE programs based upon the use of medically recognized bio-markers for the detection of ECD.
Determining whether a PE program designed to maintain elevated heart rates (50% or more of a class period) can effect positive changes in recognized bio-markers for detection of ECD.
Measuring the effectiveness of the Early Sport program as a first test of this protocol.

The results of this protocol test show that, even over as short a time period of five weeks, significant changes (improvements) in cardiovascular endurance and blood chemistry profiles can be measured by the protocol. The selected measures can be relied upon as impartial and direct indicators of the effectiveness of a PE program, by showing their impact on Early Chronic Disease (ECD) risk factors.

This study postulated a direct link between student time-in-heart-zone and ECD risk factors. The Early Sport program was designed to keep participant heart rates in the target zone of 135Ð190 bpm for 50%+ of the class period. The automatically recorded HRM data from the study show that the Early Sport PE program was effective in meeting this goal: The 3rd graders were in the target heart zone 62.3% of the time (average heart rate 146), and the 6th graders were in the zone 71.0% of the time (average heart rate 149) during the five weeks of the program. The protocol test also showed that just five weeks of the Early Sport program was effective in lowering the ECD risk profiles of elementary students (see Outcomes below). The program was especially effective in lowering the ECD risk profiles of those students most at risk to ECD (see pages 13 and 14, below). This study shows a strong positive correlation between time-in-zone and ECD risk factors.

6th Grade Outcomes
Most 6th Grade Study Group individuals showed significant improvements in cardiovascular endurance and blood chemistry profiles:

The 6th Grade Study Group ran, on average, 696 yards further in the ten minute run, after 5 weeks, while the Control Group ran 335 yards further after 5 weeks, while staying within the target heart range.
Several of the average post-test blood chemistry measurements improved significantly among the 6th Grade Study Group as compared with the Control Group:

Total Cholesterol fell 6 x more in the Study Group (-2.83 vs -0.45 mg/dL)
HDL Cholesterol reduction was 8 x greater in the Control Group (-0.28 vs -2.36 mg/dL)
Reduction in HbA1c readings was twice as great in the Study Group (-0.10 vs -0.05)
The fall in C-Reactive Protein level was 3 x higher in the Study Group (-0.02 vs -0.06)

3rd Grade Outcomes
Several anomalous results were noted with the 3rd Grade Study participants. While there were notable individual improvements in both cardiovascular endurance and blood chemistry profiles, on average, blood profile changes in the Study Group were less favorable than those of the Control Group. However, the Study GroupÕs cardiovascular endurance improved more than that of the Control Group:

The Study Group covered, on average, 73 yards more after 5 weeks, whereas the Control Group ran 51 yards further.
The Control Group had a greater average Total Cholesterol drop (-11.92 vs -8.04) than the Study Group, which was an unexpected anomaly, probably due to uncontrolled dietary factors.

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