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In 2015, U.K. newborn screening (NBS) laboratory guidelines were introduced to standardize dried blood spot (DBS) specimen quality acceptance and specify a minimum acceptable DBS diameter of ≥7 mm. The UK ‘acceptable’ avoidable repeat rate (AVRR) is ≤2%. To assess inter-laboratory variability in specimen acceptance/rejection, two sets of colored scanned images (n = 40/set) of both good and poor-quality DBS specimens were distributed to all 16 U.K. NBS laboratories for evaluation as part of an external quality assurance (EQA) assessment. The mean (range) number of specimens rejected in the first EQA distribution was 7 (1–16) and in the second EQA distribution was 7 (0–16), demonstrating that adherence to the 2015 guidelines was highly variable. A new minimum standard for DBS size of ≥8 mm (to enable a minimum of six sub-punches from two DBS) was discussed. NBS laboratories undertook a prospective audit and demonstrated that using ≥8 mm as the minimum acceptable DBS diameter would increase the AVRR from 2.1% (range 0.55% to 5.5%) to 7.8% (range 0.55% to 22.7%). A significant inverse association between the number of specimens rejected in the DBS EQA distributions and the predicted AVVR (using ≥8 mm minimum standard) was observed (r = −0.734, p = 0.003). Before implementing more stringent standards, the impact of a standard operating procedure (SOP) designed to enable a standardized approach of visual assessment and using the existing ≥7 mm diameter (to enable a minimum of four sub-punches from two DBS) as the minimum standard was assessed in a retrospective audit. Implementation of the SOP and using the ≥7 mm DBS diameter would increase the AVRR from 2.3% (range 0.63% to 5.3%) to 6.5% (range 4.3% to 20.9%). The results demonstrate that there is inconsistency in applying the acceptance/rejection criteria, and that a low AVVR is not an indication of good-quality specimens being received into laboratories. Further work is underway to introduce and maintain standards without increasing the AVRR to unacceptable levels.

Substantial scientific evidence supports the role of physical activity in disease prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion, and quality physical education represents our best opportunity to provide all children with experiences that promote physical activity now and for a lifetime. The purpose of this article is to document the need for quality physical education, given the current trends of obesity and physical inactivity among youths and adults, and to discuss 10 reasons why all youths need quality physical education that physical educators can use when communicating the profession's scientific base to the general public. (Contains 1 table.)

Seasonality appears to have an impact on children's physical activity levels, but equivocal findings demand more study in this area. With the increased use of pedometers in both research and practice, collecting descriptive data in various seasons to examine the impact of seasonality on pedometer-measured physical activity among children is warranted. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the pedometer-determined children's weekday physical activity levels during winter and spring. Participants were first- through fifth-grade students attending two elementary schools in the southern United States. Boys in this study were more active than girls, regardless of season. This finding is consistent with other studies using pedometers and similarly aged children. Although boys were significantly more active than girls during winter and spring, the difference was much less (mean difference = 1,080 steps) during winter. Furthermore, the variability of physical activity levels for boys and girls was lower in the winter. This decreased variability likely resulted from fewer opportunities to be active. Both boys and girls were significantly more active during spring than in winter. Two factors possibly contributed to this finding. The first was the temperature. During the spring data collection, the climate was much more conducive to outdoor physical activity. When the issue of seasonality is examined, the temperature is often the focus; however, it is possible that children would be physically active if they had sufficient daylight hours, even if it were cold. Future research is warranted to examine whether the temperature or daylight hours contribute to lower physical activity levels during winter. (Contains 1 table.)

The purpose of this study was to examine RT3 accelerometer activity counts and activity energy expenditure of 36 pregnant women at 20 and 32 weeks' gestation during treadmill walking and free-living conditions. During treadmill walking, oxygen consumption was collected, and activity energy expenditure was estimated for a 30-min walk at a self-selected walking pace. The number of min it would take a pregnant woman to meet exercise recommendations (i.e., kcal/week) were calculated. Preliminary activity count cut points at a self-selected walking pace were then estimated and applied in interpreting free-living data. For the treadmill walking condition, the self-selected walking pace significantly decreased from 20 to 32 weeks' gestation. Additionally, few women (less than 12% each day) met physical activity guidelines in the free-living condition. Encouraging pregnant women to walk for 30-40 min per day at a self-selected walking pace may be an appropriate public health recommendation. (Contains 2 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to examine children's physical activity during recess and outside of school. Third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students (N = 270; 121 boys, age = 9.5 plus or minus 0.9 years; 150 girls, age = 9.6 plus or minus 0.9 years) wore sealed pedometers during a 15-minute recess period and outside of school for 4 consecutive school days. A factorial analysis of variance (grade by gender) was used to examine differences among grades and between genders for the following variables: recess activity time (RAT), recess step counts (RSC), out-of-school activity time (OAT), and out-of-school step counts (OSC). For all outcome variables, there were no significant interactions between grade and gender and no significant main effect for grade. A significant main effect for gender (F[1,264] = 73.1, p less than 0.001) indicated that boys accumulated more RSC and OSC than girls (1268 plus or minus 341 vs 914 plus or minus 261 and 7229 plus or minus 2877 vs 5808 plus or minus 2059, respectively) and more RAT and OAT than girls (11.7 plus or minus 2.4 vs 9.4 plus or minus 2.2 and 77.3 plus or minus 28 vs 67.4 plus or minus 21, respectively). Boys spent 78% and girls spent 63% of their recess time engaged in physical activity. Outside of school, girls spent 20% and boys spent 25% of their time engaged in physical activity. RAT comprised 14% and 16% of total discretionary activity time for girls and boys, respectively. Boys in this study are more active during discretionary time periods compared to girls. Study participants spent the majority of their recess time engaged in physical activity.

The purpose of this study was to examine if steps/day taken by middle school students varied based on aerobic fitness classification. Middle school students (N = 223; 112 girls, 111 boys) were assigned to three aerobic fitness categories (HIGH, MOD, LOW) based on results of the FITNESSGRAM PACER test. Four weekdays of pedometer monitoring determined activity levels (steps/day). Boys accumulated significantly more steps/day than girls, 11,589 plus or minus 3,270 and 10,232 plus or minus 2,517 steps/day, respectively; F(1, 219) = 16.0, p less than 0.001, eta[squared] = 0.055. There were no differences in steps/day between grades. HIGH fit participants accumulated significantly more steps/day, F(2, 217) = 12.2, p less than 0.001, eta[squared] = 0.101, than moderately fit and low fit participants (approximately equal to 1,491 and approximately equal to 2,867 steps/day, respectively). Middle school students who participated in sports in addition to physical education (PE) accumulated significantly more steps/day (approximately equal to 980 steps/day) than those participating in PE only, F(1, 219) = 10.0, p less than 0.01, eta[squared] = 0.044. Although the relationship between physical activity and aerobic fitness was moderate (0.35; p less than 0.01), these data demonstrated significant differences in accumulated steps/day among youth of varying aerobic fitness levels. Whether improved fitness levels were the result of additional activity or the cause of it remains to be determined. Regardless, the fittest middle school students were also the most active and accumulated a significant amount of steps/day through organized extracurricular physical activities. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Sedentary women (n=92) classified as low (L), medium (M), and high (H) in baseline step counts and assigned to 10,000-step goal (TSG) and personal step goal (PSG) groups (within levels) were compared on goal attainment and step counts. A significant interaction for goal attainment, F(2, 86)=4.51, p=.014, indicated that the L group was significantly less likely to meet the TSG than the M and H groups. Step counts increased after goal assignment, but not more for one group than the other. Results of this research support the previous finding that women with low baseline step counts are unlikely to meet a TSG, but a TSG does not result in lower step counts than a PSG.