Obesity has increased in the US dramatically over the past ten years. Decreasing the risk of overweight and obesity from an early age is imperative and efforts should focus on children’s physical activity (PA). Promoting PA among girls is particularly important because PA begins to decline swiftly around nine years old and they are significantly less active than boys. There is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of the use of peer-modeling, goal setting and accelerometers to determine changes in step counts and MVPA. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a school based intervention on PA intensity and step counts in 3-5 grade elementary school age children at an urban elementary school in the Mountainwest US.
Method:
The study participants were 74 students ranging from age 8-10 with a mean BMI of 18.6 + 3.87. Accelerometers were used to assess number of steps taken and the number of minutes in MVPA by the participants at school. Students were introduced to the Fit ‘n’ Cool Kids (peer-models) on day one of the intervention. Each student received a letter from the Fit ‘n’ Cool Kids with his or her accelerometer target goal and was instructed to reach their goal as many days as possible during the intervention. Verbal praise was awarded to the students who reached their goal. Daily steps and MVPA were recorded and means and SDs were calculated at baseline, week four, and during a 7 week follow-up.
Analysis/Results:
Step counts and MVPA increased among girls in the intervention school. Girls averaged 5225 steps at baseline and increased to 5723 steps during week four and increased 6260 during the follow-up phase. Girls MVPA increased throughout the intervention from 26.50 min at baseline to 30.36 minutes at week 4 and 33.67 during the follow-up phase. Boys step counts 6770; 6376; 6016) and MVPA (36.79; 32.87; 34.09) did not increase during the intervention or follow-up phase.
Conclusions:
Studies have found that girls are less active than boys at all ages and this study showed the potential of self-monitoring goal setting and Fit and Cool Kids (peer-modeling) for increasing the PA of girls at school. It is essential to consider implementing similar interventions in schools that can positively influence the PA patterns of young girls.