Physical Activity
Conditions
Keywords
Physical activity, Walking, Intervention, Adolescent girls, Randomised trial
Brief summary
Children and young people are recommended to undertake at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity each day. However recent findings have indicated that only 51% of children aged 7 years were meeting these guidelines. Previous research has also highlighted girls are significantly less active than. Furthermore, children living in Northern Ireland are least likely to meet the guidelines, with only 43.4% of children here reaching the recommended ≥ 60 minutes a day. The development of interventions which can successfully increase levels of physical activity in adolescent girls in Northern Ireland is of key importance. The aim of this intervention is to investigate whether or not girls (aged 11-13 years) can increase their daily levels of physical activity over a 12 week period by taking part in a school-based brisk walking intervention. The impact of participating in a school-based brisk walking intervention on a range of other outcome measures will also be investigated. A total sample of 200 adolescent females will be recruited onto the study, with recruitment of participants taking place at the school level. Following written consent from parents/guardians and assent from participants, participants will be randomised at the school level to either participate in the walking intervention or to act as controls. Objective physical activity will be assessed at 3 time points using an Actigraph accelerometer. At baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks) and follow up (4 months post-intervention) participants will also undergo measurements of height, weight, waist and hip circumference, bloody pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Participants will also complete questionnaires assessing levels of physical activity and a number of psychosocial variables at each time point. Following completion of follow up measurements, a sub-sample of participants (n=45) will be invited to take part in focus groups to evaluate their experiences of the intervention.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPhysical Activity
15 mins physical activity per day within the school setting.
Sponsors
University of Ulster
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
11 Years to 13 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 11-13 years old * Female * Attend a school selected to take part in the study * Healthy and free from any medical condition that limits their participation in a brisk walking intervention, for example, a musculoskeletal injury
Exclusion criteria
* Male pupils * Those who are unable to walk or for whom walking is contraindicated will not be eligible for inclusion
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Total daily physical activity | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Measured for 7 consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometer at each time-point |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-reported physical activity | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Measured using Physical Activity Questionnaire for children |
| Weight | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | — |
| Blood pressure | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | — |
| Cardiorespiratory fitness | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Measured using the Queens College Step test |
| Physical activity intensity | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Measured for 7 consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometer at each time-point |
| Self-efficacy for walking | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Psychosocial questionnaire - adapted walking self-efficacy scale |
| Social support for physical activity and walking | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Social support for physical activity and walking from male and female parents/guardians and friends scale |
| Attitude to exercise | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Psychosocial questionnaire - perceived benefits and barriers to exercise scale |
| Waist hip ratio | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | — |
| Self-efficacy for physical activity | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | Psychosocial questionnaire - Children's physical activity self-efficacy scale |
Outcome results
None listed