Increasing Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls
Author Information
Author(s): Desiree Jones, Deanna M Hoelscher, Steven H Kelder, Albert Hergenroeder, Shreela V Sharma
Primary Institution: The Michael and Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, University of Texas Health Science Center
Hypothesis
The IMPACT program will increase physical activity and decrease sedentary behavior in middle school girls.
Conclusion
The IMPACT intervention successfully increased physical activity levels and decreased sedentary activity among participating schools.
Supporting Evidence
- Intervention schools had higher daily minutes of vigorous physical activity compared to control schools.
- Students in intervention schools reduced their daily TV/video watching time significantly.
- Daily after school activity minutes were significantly higher in intervention schools.
Takeaway
This study shows that a school program can help girls be more active and watch less TV.
Methodology
A randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest design was used to analyze physical activity data collected from intervention and control schools.
Potential Biases
Self-reported measures of physical activity may lead to over-reporting.
Limitations
The study only evaluated data at two time points and had a limited number of schools, which may affect the generalizability of the results.
Participant Demographics
Participants were mostly white (72%), with 12% Hispanic and 5% African-American, and the mean age was 11.6 years at baseline.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.04
Confidence Interval
95% CI = 5.82–6.18
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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