School break time provides a golden opportunity to boost children's fitness, according to a new report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in America.

The report puts break time at the head of the class among opportunities to make students' school days more active. But it doesn't favour a free-for-all melee in the playground. The Foundation wants to see grown-ups involved, supervising fun activities that engage the children.

The new report says students perform better at school when they have a chance to burn off energy through healthy physical activity. It points out that school recess occurs every day, whereas physical education (PE) classes are only offered twice a week at some schools.

The report details the results of a year-long experiment in which recess at a Boston elementary school was revamped by the Harvard Family Research Project. The team used a non-profit program called Sports4Kids, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In the Sports4Kids program, trained adults foster healthy fun activities during recess at low-income schools. The grown-ups teach games to the children and help them learn to handle conflicts without fighting.

The Harvard experiment showed a "positive ripple effect" from the Sports4Kids experiment, according to the report. The children at the school became more cooperative and felt safer in the playground during recess, were more likely to join in physical activities during recess, and enjoyed being active. And those benefits led to more productive classrooms, the report states.

"All work and no play isn't good for the health and well-being of children," states the report. "If kids are fit, they are more likely to be fit to learn." (Source: WebMD)