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Physical activity outcomes in afterschool programs: A group randomized controlled trial
Michael W Beets1, R Glenn Weaver1, Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy1
1Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States.
Insights
The Strategies-To-Enhance-Practice (STEPs) intervention improved moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in afterschool programs. While not all children met the 30min/day MVPA goal, the program showed positive impacts on activity levels.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatric Health
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Afterschool programs (ASPs) aim for children (6-12 years) to achieve 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily.
- Limited research exists on interventions to increase MVPA in ASP settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the two-year impact of the Strategies-To-Enhance-Practice (STEPs) intervention on children's MVPA in US-based ASPs.
- To assess the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention (programming, training, support) in helping ASPs meet the 30min/day MVPA standard.
Main Methods:
- A two-year delayed treatment, group randomized controlled trial involving 20 ASPs in a southeastern US state.
- Intervention focused on daily schedule integration, staff training, and ongoing technical assistance for MVPA.
- Accelerometry measured the proportion of children meeting the 30min/day MVPA standard annually; mixed-model logistic regressions analyzed changes.
Main Results:
- The intervention significantly increased the odds of boys in the immediate group achieving 30min MVPA/day (OR=1.88) and girls in the delayed group (OR=1.42).
- Immediate girls and delayed boys showed non-significant increases in MVPA attainment.
- Overall, the intervention demonstrated a positive impact but did not achieve the goal for all children.
Conclusions:
- The STEPs intervention positively influenced children's MVPA and reduced sedentary time in ASPs.
- Achieving the standard of all children accumulating 30min MVPA/day requires further strategies.
- Continued efforts are necessary to identify effective methods for ASPs to meet this public health objective.
Introduction:
Afterschool programs (ASPs) across the US are working towards achieving the standard of all children accumulating 30min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during program time. This study describes the two-year impact of an intervention designed to assist ASPs meeting the 30min/day MVPA standard.
Methods:
Using a two-year delayed treatment, group randomized controlled trial, 20 ASPs serving ~1700 children/year (6-12yrs) were randomized to either an immediate (n=10, baseline-2013 and 2yrs intervention fall-2013-to-spring-2015) or delayed group (n=10, baseline 2013-2014 and 1yr intervention fall-2014-to-spring-2015). The intervention, Strategies-To-Enhance-Practice (STEPs), focused on programming MVPA in the daily schedule, training of staff and leaders, and ongoing technical support/assistance. Accelerometry-derived proportion of children meeting the 30min/day MVPA standard was measured in the spring of each year. Mixed model logistic regressions were used to examine the change in the odds of achieving the MVPA standard. Analyses were conducted in 2015. Data were collected in one southeastern US state.
Results:
Immediate boys (n=677) and delayed girls (n=658) increased the percent achieving 30min MVPA/day from 35.9% to 47.0% (odds ratio [OR]=1.88, 95% CI 1.18-3.00) and 13.1% to 19.1% (OR=1.42, 95% CI 1.03-1.96). Immediate girls (n=613) and delayed boys (n=687) exhibited a nonsignificant increase from 19.1% to 21.6% (OR=1.20, 95% CI 0.84-1.72) and 29.0% to 31.3% (OR=1.13, 95%CI 0.80-1.58).
Conclusions:
STEPs can have an impact on children's MVPA and time spent sedentary, yet was unable to fully achieve the goal of all children accumulating 30minMVPA/day. Additional efforts are need to identify strategies ASPs can use to meet this important public health standard.
