Can a Parental Modeling Physical Activity Intervention Improve Physical Activity and Body Composition in Adults and Young Children

Background:The current study aimed at describing influencing factors for physical activity among young children to determine the best approaches for developing the IDEFICS community based intervention.Methods:In 8 European sites a trained moderator conducted a minimum of 4 focus groups using standardized questioning guides. A total of 56 focus groups were conducted including 36 focus groups with parents and 20 focus groups with children, of which 74 were boys and 81 girls. Key findings were identified through independent reviews of focus group summary reports using content analysis methods.Findings:Findings were generally consistent across countries. The greatest emphasis was on environmental physical (eg, seasonal influences, availability of facilities and safety), institutional (eg, length of breaks at school), and social factors (eg, role modeling of parents). Most cited personal factors by parents were age, social economical status, and perceived barriers. Both children and parents mentioned the importance of children’s preferences.Conclusions:To increase physical activity levels of young children the intervention should aim at creating an environment (physical, institutional, social) supportive of physical activity. On the other hand strategies should take into account personal factors like age and social economical status and should consider personal barriers too.

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A 10-Month Physical Activity Intervention Improves Body Composition in Young Black Boys

Journal of Obesity ◽

10.1155/2011/358581 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Cheryl A. Howe ◽

Ryan A. Harris ◽

Bernard Gutin

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Composition ◽

Physical Activity Intervention ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Skills Development ◽

After School ◽

Control Group ◽

Black Boys ◽

X Ray ◽

Group A

Objective. To determine if a 10-month after-school physical activity (PA) intervention could prevent deleterious changes in body composition and cardiovascular (CV) fitness in young black boys.Methods. Following baseline measures, 106 boys (8–12 yrs) were randomized to either a control group or an intervention group, further divided into attenders (ATT) and nonattenders (NATT), participating in ≥60% or <60% of the intervention, respectively. The daily intervention consisted of skills development (25 min), vigorous PA (VPA, 35 min), and strengthening/stretching (20 min) components. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.Results. Following the intervention, the ATT exhibited an increase in moderate-to-vigorous PA and a significant reduction in BMI, fat mass, and %BF compared to the control group. A significant association among the intervention energy expenditure and changes in body composition and CV fitness was observed only in the ATT group.Conclusion. An after-school PA program of sufficient length and intensity can promote healthy changes in body composition and fitness levels in black boys who attend at least 3 days/week.

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Physical Activity, Television Viewing, and Body Composition In Young Children.

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise ◽

10.1097/00005768-200405001-00635 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 36 (Supplement) ◽

pp. S133

Author(s):

Seth P. McFarland ◽

Kate A. Heelan ◽

Chad Cook ◽

Ryan D. Krueger ◽

Joey C. Eisenmann

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Composition ◽

Young Children ◽

Television Viewing

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Two-year longitudinal health-related fitness, anthropometry and body composition status amongst adolescents in Tlokwe Municipality: The PAHL Study

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine ◽

10.4102/phcfm.v7i1.896 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Oluwatoyi O. Toriola ◽

Makama A. Monyeki ◽

Abel L. Toriola

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Composition ◽

Physical Fitness ◽

Physical Activity Intervention ◽

Positive Association ◽

Endurance Running ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Negatively Associated ◽

Health Related ◽

Health Related Fitness

Aim: To evaluate a two-year longitudinal development of health-related fitness, anthropometry and body composition status amongst adolescents in Tlokwe Municipality, Potchefstroom, South Africa.Setting: A total of 283 high-school learners (111 boys and 172 girls) of ages 14 and 15 years who were part of the ongoing Physical Activity and Health Longitudinal Study (PAHLS) participated in the study. For the purpose of the present study, data collected for 2011 and 2012 for anthropometric, body composition and health-related physical fitness were used.Results: Body mass index (BMI) classification of boys and girls for 2011 and 2012 showed that 24.3% of them were underweight compared with 21% in 2012. In 2011, 50% of boys and girls had normal bodyweight compared with 52% in 2012, whilst 25.5% of the total group of participants were overweight compared with 27% in 2012. Both boys and girls showed significant increases of 5.9% in body fat (BF) and 3.2 kg in body weight over two years’ measurements, respectively. Regarding health-related fitness (i.e BAH), boys showed an increase of 14.8 seconds whilst girls gained 9.6 seconds. Significant decreases were found for sit-ups in both boys and girls. A significant VO2max increase of 2.9 mL/kg/min. was found in boys over the time period. A non-significant decrease of -0.5 mL/kg/min. was observed in girls. Regression coefficients showed that changes in BMI were inversely associated with those in health-related physical fitness. The changes in percentage BF were negatively associated with standing broad jump (SBJ), bent arm hang (BAH) and VO2 max in both boys and girls. A low significant positive association was found between changes in waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and SBJ in both genders, whilst inverse low associations were found between WHtR and BAH in girls and for VO2max in both genders.Conclusion: Changes in BMI, %BF and WHtR were negatively associated with strength and running performances in the participating children. The relative increase in overweight, especially in girls, negatively affected their endurance running and static strength performances. The health implications of the observed findings are discussed and recommendations offered for physical activity intervention in school physical education (PE) programmes.

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