The ATLAS (Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen-time) obesity prevention program for adolescent boys

This study will evaluate the Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen-time (ATLAS) program, which is a multi-component school-based physical activity and sedentary behaviour intervention for adolescent boys living in low-income communities who are ‘at-risk’ of obesity. The development of the program was guided by Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Determination Theory. The 8-month intervention will be delivered in two phases and includes the following components: Phase I Professional learning workshops for teachers: The research team will plan and deliver 2 full day professional development workshops for two teachers (1 PE teacher and 1 teacher from another key learning area). The first workshop will occur in the school term prior to the commencement of the enhanced school sport sessions and will introduce teachers to the intervention aims and objectives. It will also focus on strategies to promote physical activity, reduce sedentary behaviour and improve social and emotional well-being in adolescent boys. Teachers will be provided with opportunities to improve their resistance training and fitness skills to support the implementation of the intervention. The second workshop will occur after 4 months and will reinforce the key intervention principles and strategies. It will also provide teachers with an opportunity to reflect on their progress and share their experiences with the other teachers in the study. Both workshops will guided by SCT and SDT and will be used to reinforce the SAAFE (Supportive, Active, Autonomous, Fair and Enjoyable) teaching principles. Phase II The second phase of the intervention will involve a range of strategies designed to increase students’ participation in physical activity and support parents in their attempts to manage their child(ren)’s screen time behaviours. The second phase includes the following components: (i) Interactive seminars: Boys will attend three interactive seminars delivered by members of the research team (30 minutes each). The first seminar will be delivered at baseline and will introduce key messages and strategies related to physical activity, sedentary behaviour and nutrition at the beginning of the intervention. The second seminar will occur mid-intervention and will have a “Physical Activity Leaders” focus to complement the lunchtime physical activity sessions. The final seminar will take place at the conclusion of the intervention and will review key behavioural messages. (ii) Enhanced school sport sessions: Boys will participate in 20 weeks of enhanced school sport (1 session/week for 90 minutes). These sessions will be delivered by teachers and will include a range of vigorous physical activities designed to engage students and improve fitness. Each session will include the following components: warm-up, resistance training skill development, CrossFit style fitness challenges, minor games and cool down. (iii) Lunch-time physical activity sessions: Boys will be encouraged to organise and deliver 10 lunchtime physical activity sessions (one session/week for 10 weeks). The aim of these sessions is to encourage boys to become “Physical Activity Leaders” in their school by taking ownership of the 30 minute weekly workouts and inviting Year 7 boys to attend. Specific leadership challenges and tasks will provide boys with an opportunity to achieve a “physical activity leader” accreditation within the school. (iv) Parental strategies to reduce screen time: Parents will be provided with four strategies to reduce their child(ren)’s screen time: (a) suggested screen time rules, (b) screen time behavioural contract, (c) newsletters focusing on: household screen time rules, consequences of excessive screen time, strategies to manage parent/child conflict arising from screen time rules and home challenges to reduce screen time, (d) access to a screen time parental blog- to encourage parents to share their challenges and triumphs related to screen time (link: www.gettingboysactive.blogspot.com.au). The intervention strategies will be disseminated to parents using postal mail and email. The research will not have any face-to-face contact with parents. (v) On-going professional support. Members of the research team will observe two school sport sessions at each school over the study period (once in the first 10 weeks and then another observation in weeks 11-20). Teacher will be then provided with feedback and on-going professional support. (vi) Pedometers for self- monitoring: Boys will be provided with pedometers to use as motivational tools. They will be encouraged to set physical activity goals and self-monitor their daily activity using the pedometers. (vii) Website, iPhone and Android application (app): The delivery of the intervention will be supported using the ATLAS website, iPhone and Android app. The ATLAS app will provide a medium for the following: (a) self-monitoring physical activity steps and CrossFit workouts, (b) peer and self-assessment of resistance training skill competency, (c) motivational and informational text messaging to reinforce health behaviours.