An interventional study of Classroom-Based Exercise Snacks in Child Development, Motor Skills and Executive Function, sponsored by Islamic Azad University, Abadan Branch. Completed at 1 site in Iran. Open to male participants aged 9 Years to 13 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-29.
Sponsored by Islamic Azad University, Abadan Branch · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether brief, classroom-based exercise snacks (short bursts of physical activity performed during class time) can improve creativity, motor skills, and academic engagement in elementary school students (Grades 4-6). The study aims to answer whether integrating short exercise breaks into the school day can enhance children's physical and cognitive development without disrupting regular instruction.
This study was a cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in two elementary schools in Abadan, Iran. The primary objective was to evaluate the effects of a classroom-based exercise snack intervention on motor competence, physical fitness, executive function, creativity, and academic engagement in children from Grades 4 to 6. A total of 12 classrooms (six intervention and six control) were randomly allocated to either the exercise snack program or a usual instruction condition. The intervention was delivered by trained classroom teachers and consisted of 2- to 4-minute exercise snacks performed three times per day (first, third, and fifth class periods) on three non-consecutive days per week, over a 20-week period. The exercise snacks included progressive bodyweight movements (e.g., running in place, squats, and jumps) designed to elicit moderate-to-vigorous physical activity intensity, with cognitive demands introduced from the fifth week onward.
Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Motor competence was evaluated using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2) short form. Physical fitness was assessed via the 10×5 m shuttle run, standing long jump, and sit-up tests from the EUROFIT battery. Executive function was measured using a battery of cognitive tasks including the Stroop Test, Trail Making Test-Part B, and Digit Span Test. Additionally, creativity was assessed using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, and academic engagement was evaluated using the Fredricks Academic Engagement Questionnaire. All outcome assessments were performed by trained assessors who were blinded to group allocation. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the effects of the intervention, accounting for classroom clustering and repeated measurements. The study was terminated early at 20 weeks due to the unexpected onset of war, and only schools with complete data collection were retained in the final analysis.
Islamic Azad University, Abadan Branch is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.
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Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Classrooms in this arm received a classroom-based exercise snack intervention for 20 weeks. The intervention was delivered by trained classroom teachers and consisted of 2- to 4-minute exercise snacks performed three times per day (first, third, and fifth class periods) on three non-consecutive days per week. The exercise snacks included progressive bodyweight movements (e.g., running in place, squats, and jumps) designed to elicit moderate-to-vigorous physical activity intensity, with cognitive demands introduced from the fifth week onward.
Behavioral: Classroom-Based Exercise Snacks
Classrooms in this arm continued their usual educational activities throughout the study period and did not receive any additional classroom-based physical activity intervention. Students in both intervention and control classrooms participated in the regular school physical education classes according to the existing curriculum.
A 20-week classroom-based exercise snack program delivered by trained teachers. Exercise snacks consisted of 2- to 4-minute bouts of progressive bodyweight movements (e.g., running in place, squats, and jumps) performed three times per day on three non-consecutive days per week. The intensity was designed to be moderate-to-vigorous, with cognitive demands (e.g., responding to commands, color naming) introduced from the fifth week onward. The program was implemented in regular classrooms without specialized equipment.
Motor Competence
Motor competence was assessed using the short form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2). The BOT-2 Short Form yields a Total Motor Composite standard score. The minimum possible score is 20 and the maximum possible score is 80 (standard score scale). Higher scores indicate better motor competence. The total composite score was used as the primary indicator of motor competence.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention (after 20 weeks).
Creativity
Creativity was assessed using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) - Figural Form. The test evaluates divergent thinking and creative potential through standardized figural tasks. The Total Creativity Index (a standard score) was used for analysis. The minimum possible score on the standard score scale is 20 and the maximum is 160 (with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 20). Higher scores indicate better creative potential (i.e., greater divergent thinking ability).
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention (after 20 weeks).
Physical Fitness Composite Score
Overall physical fitness was assessed using a composite score derived from three tests of the EUROFIT battery: the 10×5 m shuttle run, standing long jump, and sit-up test. Raw scores from each test were standardized using z-score transformation and then averaged to create a single composite score. The composite score is a standardized z-score (sample mean = 0, standard deviation = 1); it does not have fixed minimum or maximum values, as the theoretical range is unbounded. Higher (more positive) scores indicate better overall physical fitness, while lower (more negative) scores indicate poorer physical fitness.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention (after 20 weeks).
Executive Function Composite Score
Executive function was assessed using a battery of neuropsychological tasks: the Stroop Test, Trail Making Test-Part B (TMT-B), and Digit Span Test. A composite score was calculated by standardizing and averaging the scores from these measures. The resulting composite is a standardized z-score (sample mean = 0, standard deviation = 1); it does not have fixed minimum or maximum values, as the theoretical range is unbounded. Higher (more positive) composite scores indicate better executive function, while lower (more negative) scores indicate poorer executive function.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention (after 20 weeks).
Academic Engagement
Academic engagement was assessed using the Fredricks Academic Engagement Questionnaire. The minimum possible total score is 19 and the maximum possible total score is 95. Higher scores indicate greater academic engagement, while lower scores reflect poorer engagement.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention (after 20 weeks).
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data (IPD) that underlie the results reported in this article will be shared. This includes demographic data, motor competence scores, physical fitness test results, executive function test scores, creativity scores, and academic engagement questionnaire scores. Data will be available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author (Dr. Raoof Negaresh) for academic and non-commercial research purposes (e.g., meta-analyses or secondary data analyses).
Supporting information: Study protocol, Informed consent form
Time frame: Beginning 6 months after publication of the primary results and ending 5 years after publication.
Access criteria: Researchers must submit a formal request and a brief research proposal to the principal investigator (Dr. Raoof Negaresh) via email at Raoof.negaresh@cfu.ac.ir. The proposal must clearly state the research question, planned statistical analyses, and the purpose of data use, which must be limited to non-commercial academic research. Requests will be reviewed and approved by the principal investigator within 2 weeks.
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Islamic Azad University, Abadan Branch