Project GRIT (Growth, Resilience, Insights, Thrive): a pilot intervention study to prevent childhood obesity

Participants of Project Grit undertake a 12-week program implemented by a multidisciplinary group of qualified health professionals. Once a participant has joined the program, they are provided with a journal, a GRIT t-shirt, a visor, a drink bottle and a heart rate monitor and chest strap. Only the heart rate monitor and chest strap need to be returned at the close of the project. Heart rate monitoring During all exercise sessions participants will wear a the A300 Polar Fitness Watch and Activity Tracker heart rate monitor paired to a chest strap. Children and their parents will be trained in the use and interpretation of the heart rate monitor by the WLSA Project GRIT staff, and will be assisted to calculate their maximum heart rate (HRmax), and identify their heart rate zone which is the heart rate zone which achieves the greatest level of fat oxidation (LIPOXmax). The heart rate data obtained from the polar fitness watch during the exercise sessions will be checked after the sessions to determine if the participant has achieved the appropriate hear rate zones during the session. Exercise sessions The children will attend three group sessions of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) per week (across the 12 week program), which will last for 30-minutes. The HIIT will begin with a slow run warm up followed by a gentle supervised stretch, and will be finished with an easy 200m walk. The HIIT will involve running fast for short periods with long recovery periods where the participants will be walking and lightly jogging. No exercise equipment will be used. The HIIT sessions will be implemented by a professional Fitness Trainer assisted by qualified supervision staff. There will be staff present for each training session (i.e. 1 staff per 10 children). The following interval sets will be used in the HIIT sessions, with a gradual progression through the weeks: • 15-seconds high intensity activity: 2.45-minutes recovery at 50-70% HRmax. • 30-seconds high intensity activity: 4.30-minutes recovery at 50-70% HRmax. • 1-minute high intensity activity: 4-minutes recovery at 50-70% HRmax. Attendance logs will be kept at all exercise sessions. Healthy eating workshops/cooking demonstrations During the 12-week program, three group workshops will be held which focus on healthy eating and two group workshops will be held for cooking demonstration. These sessions will last for approximately one hour and will be implemented by Accredited Practicing Dietitians. The workshops will be offered in the same small groups that children participate in their HIIT exercise with to build a sense of teamwork, trust and companionship. Participant groups will attend the workshops in either Weeks 1, 5 and 9 or in Weeks 2, 6 and 10. In addition to the three healthy eating workshops, all participants will attend two cooking demonstrations. These will be held in week 1 or 2, and then again in week 10, 11 or 12. In the weeks a group is not participating in a healthy eating workshop, they have workbook activities to complete. The first cooking demonstration will involve basic demonstrations on how to prepare healthy meals and snacks. The second cooking demonstration will involve a guest chef making a recipe created by one of the participants. The participants will not be cooking or involved in food preparation. Attendance logs will be kept at all healthy eating and cooking demonstration sessions. Emotional freedom workshops Each participant will attend a single group session within the 12-week program on emotional freedom technique (EFT) run by a Psychologist. The content of the workshop is an EFT (tapping workshop for kids), which is an alternative behaviour technique to self soothe. The group will be broken down into maximum of 12 participants per session. In addition to the EFT workshops, one-on-one sessions with the psychologist will be offered to Project GRIT participants on an as needed basis, reflecting any needs identified during the cognitive assessment with the psychologist at baseline. An attendance log will be kept at the EFT session. Mindfulness workshop A psychologist will run a single group session of mindfulness within the second half of the 12-week program. The mindfulness workshop will focus on eating behaviour techniques, and will involve guided eating meditations and discussions. Mindful eating techniques focus on attending physical hunger, satiety, taste, and awareness of cues to eat; it also focuses on the practice of savouring tastes and textures. During the workshop, participants will be offered non-allergenic foods to interact with and consume, such as raisins. An attendance log will be kept at the mindfulness session.