Transform-Us!: an intervention promoting children's health.

A 2-year behavioural intervention targeted at reducing sedentary behaviour (SB-I) and increasing physical activity (PA-I) alone or in combination (SB+PA-I) among 8-9 year old children will be delivered through primary schools, with home-based components. A current practice, control arm (C) will serve as a comparison. The materials are based on Social Cognitive Theory, Behavioural Choice Theory and Ecological Systems Theory. School based component: - Teachers in the SB-I program will increase the proportion of class time that children spend continuously active by delivering one lesson (30-minutes per day) of their standard curriculum via an alternative method which requires the children to be standing (eg 30-minute standing lessons) and reducing periods of continuous sitting by including short (2-minunte) ‘standing breaks’ every 30 minutes during teaching blocks (eg. children stand and discuss the current activity); - Teachers in the PA -I program will increase children’s physical activity during recess and lunch times through increased teacher supervision and encouragement (ie teachers actively encourage children to be active during school breaks); our provision of additional signage in the school grounds (eg ground court markings); and our provision of additional equipment (eg bats and balls). - Teachers in the SB +PA-I program will combine the above strategies to both interrupt extended periods of sitting and increase time spent in physical activity during breaks. - Teachers in the C schools are will continue their current procedures, policy and practice. Over the two years, class teachers in the SB-I, PA-I and SB+PA-I groups will also deliver to their students a series of 18 ‘key messages’ developed by the research team, targeted at their intervention arms’ relevant behaviours (eg selective viewing, behavioural contracts). The messages are designed to be easily incorporated into the current learning theme. The researchers will provide resources for this component and teachers are encouraged to incorporate them into their current curriculum. Home-based component Teachers will give children regular homework activities which will focus on reducing time spent in sedentary leisure activities at home (SB-I), increasing physical activity at home (PA-I) or a combination of these (SB+PA-I). Ideas and resources will be provided by the researchers and the teachers will be encouraged to adapt their current homework tasks to match the aim of their intervention arm. Examples of such homework include SB-I: “Switch off the TV ...” contracts, or PA-I: ‘walking around the neighbourhood’ tasks that incorporate current learning (eg. counting letterboxes), and SB+PA-I: “Switch off the computer and go for a family walk” tasks. In addition, parents will receive eight newsletters and will be invited to attend and two parent information nights to provide families with information about the program aims and progress and to reinforce the behavioural changes.