• Arch G Mainous, Jasmine R Essa, Sean Sauer, Rachel Bennett, Sean Keck, and Ara Jo.
• Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
• Fam Med. 2023 Nov 1; 55 (10): 677679677-679.

Background And ObjectivesImplementing a structured activity to encourage exercise in children may be a strategy with benefits. We evaluated pulmonary function in elementary school children participating in a school-based exercise program called The Daily Mile.MethodsDuring the fall semester, we implemented The Daily Mile program in one elementary school and compared pulmonary function in children in the intervention school pre- and postintervention to children in a control school in the same community. The primary outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1% (the FEV1/FVC ratio).ResultsThe children in the control school showed no significant change in FEV1% during the semester (P=.06). On the other hand, children in the intervention school showed a significant improvement in FEV1% during the same semester (P=.001). This effect was consistent even when stratifying by asthma and sports participation.ConclusionsThe Daily Mile has benefits for pulmonary function in children. Although family physicians should continue to encourage their patients to have a healthy lifestyle, a more effective approach may be to encourage schools to adopt a program that teachers oversee and administer in a structured way.

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