n are needed to improve children’s health behaviors. Phys- text for health intervention [15,16]. A variety of school- ARCHIVES OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleical activity (PA) has been linked to lower likelihood of chronic diseases such as overweight and obesity, cardio-vascular disease, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes [5-8]. Conversely, a lifestyle of sedentary behaviors is associ-ated with the onset of chronic diseases, disabilities, and based interventions have aimed to increase PA through, for example, increased physical education time, added recess periods, painted playground surfaces, strategies to reduce TV and computer game usage, and dance pro-grams [17,18]; however little research has focused on the possible role of school gardens in the promotion of chil-dren’s health behaviors. School gardens have the potential * Correspondence: nmw2@cornell.edu1Design & Environmental Analysis Department, College of Human Ecology,ity [1] and children’s physical inactivity [2-4], strategiesBackground: Childhood obesity is an epidemic. Strategies are needed to promote children’s healthy habits related to diet and physical activity. School gardens have the potential to bolster children’s physical activity and reduce time spent in sedentary activity; however little research has examined the effect of gardens on children’s physical activity. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examines the effect of school gardens on children’s overall physica