Running Head: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

Creating Physical Activity Intervention Programs for School-Age

Children
Gilberto M. Wilson, Jr.
Prof. N. Torrez
EDU 306
October 30, 2014

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

Creating Physical Activity Intervention Programs for School-Age Children

Childhood obesity is a growing concern for American society, as well as
other cultures across the globe. Since 1970, the number of children who are
classified as overweight has increased at least twofold (J. E. Donnelly &
Lambourne, 2011). Today, over one third of the child population in the US is
overweight or near overweight, according to a study by the University of
Minnesota (cite). According to a study of childrens health behaviors,
obesity is becoming an issue for increasingly younger ages (Sothern, 2004).
Though there are no clearly specific causes, poor diet and exercise are
commonly linked as contributing factors to this epidemic. Because of the
strong correlation to diet and exercise habits, there is a general belief that
obesity is a treatable or preventable condition. This belief has led several
communities and agencies to engage in developing, implementing, and
assessing intervention programs that target the health of school age
children. Due to the fact that children spend most of their day in schools,
many interventions have been developed, and continue to be constructed for
implementation in classroom settings (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011).
The development of intervention programs to address the health of
grade-schoolers begins with identifying opportunities, specifying controllable
factors, and determining the availability and best use of resources. A shared
goal amongst many programs is to ultimately counteract a sedentary
environment, especially one that is commonly found in a classroom setting.

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An intervention program called Physical Activity Across the Curriculum

(PAAC) began with a goal to decrease gains in body mass index, and to
measure differences in fitness and the academic performance of children
who participated in the intervention program over time (Joseph E. Donnelly
et al., 2009). In approaching these goals, there is a continued effort by
program developers to ensure that activity is learning-based, and that
curriculum is developed in a way that encourages participation of both
students and teachers. This goal influences the creation of intervention
programs due to the suggestion that health and student academic
performance may share a relationship, though the results of research do vary
(Kwak et al., 2009). The relationship between physical activity and academic
performance provides an opportunity to contribute positively to both areas of
concern for program developers and educational institutions.
As program developers construct intervention methods, they consider
what resources are available to those they have partnered with, and
collaborate with teachers, parents, community leaders, and others to
determine how best to use those resources. Determining program feasibility
can help to better target and service distinct populations. In schools,
designating time in or out of class to engage in physical activity was possibly
the resource that drew the most concern in the development and
implementation stages of intervention programs. Schedules consumed by
the objectives of school curriculum can be inflexible. Still, the requirements
of curriculum can yield opportunities to create specific activities that are not

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disruptive to time designated to instruct students. As a way to address this

concern, developers of PAAC designed programs that encouraged the
engagement in activity that was related to then current established
curriculum, or activity that was developed to be paired with specific lessons
(Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011).
Although program activities are initially designed by program
development teams, the creation of learning-based activities is not limited to
program developers. In Texas, teachers were not only given lesson plans
that incorporated specific physical activities that engaged the students, but
they were also encouraged to develop their own lessons that incorporated
activity or modified existing ones (Bartholomew & Jowers, 2011). Teachers
and other program facilitators should see pre-made learning activities as
tools, not implicitly strict directives.
Intervention programs are implemented by introducing the programs
to teachers who were not already involved in the early stages of program
development. This is done to gauge program interest, receive feedback, and
determine which schools and staff will take part in delivery of an intervention
program. The next step in many physical activity interventions is to train
teachers and other school staff who will participate in delivery of the
program to students. It is important to communicate program values and
goals to school staff, and to make provision of tools and resources clear, such
as facilities, activity plans, and evaluation tools. In an intervention program
deployed in the UK, the program manager and school staff who were

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

involved in delivering the program to students were provided with a one-day

training session (Baker et al., 2013). This training was commissioned by the
National Health Service, and involved the communication of intervention
principles, structure of the process, and evaluation methods (Baker et al.,
2013). This step, though still in the planning process, is also the first stage
of implementation, as it only happens after a program is ready for
deployment.
Implementation of a physical activity intervention program may require
the consent of the parents or guardians of the children who are asked to
participate. In an intervention program piloted in a suburb of Central
England, parents received information packages and consent forms, and
were made aware of their right to discontinue their childs participation at
any time (Baker et al., 2013). The lack of sufficient communication can
create an obstacle to achieving program goals, as caretakers may not allow
their children to participate for various reasons. Despite the benefits of
learning-based physical activity, parents and guardians may wish to exclude
their child from participation to spare possible emotional injury, or because
of a lack of understanding of program requirements and objectives. This was
the case for a physical activity program made to research the effect of
physical activity interventions, as parents expressed their fears of injury, but
accepted the risks involved in participation of their children (Engelen et al.,
2013). For these reasons and more, it is important to communicate with
caretakers in the most efficient way possible to gain the allowance of their

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childs participation, whether it is by written letters, face-to-face meetings, or

any other mode of communication.
Engaging in the activities developed for the intervention program
requires school staff and other adult instructors to encourage and motivate
students to participate by employing lessons that compel physical activity.
Continued performance of these activities throughout the lengths of
intervention programs have been encouraged by using several strategies,
dependent upon the setting. In a program called Take 10!, teacher focusgroups were consulted to develop ways to make participation attractive to
students (Kibbe et al., 2011). After further testing and consultation, activity
tracking posters and goal rewards were created and used to assist teachers
in motivating student participation (Kibbe et al., 2011). Though consequent
student participation is required for successful intervention, further and
specific measurements of results are needed in the process of creating a
lasting and efficient health intervention program.
Intervention program results should be measured to determine
whether or not they were able to achieve program objectives. These results
can be measured by those involved in the delivery of the program or an
outside agency tasked with obtaining measurements, but they should be
consistent with stated program goals. It is important to collect accurate
data pertaining to the physical health of participating students both at the
beginning and end of the intervention program in order to determine success
and significance of the program. A study of 5 Los Angeles, California schools

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was able to measure the effect of Kids N Fitness, a 6-week physical activity
intervention program, by gathering BMI measurements of children before
and after completion of the program (Wright, Giger, Norris, & Suro, 2013).
Although the program was not one centered on in-class activity, data
collected showed that the intervention program was successful in achieving
set objectives, significantly in girls who participated (Wright, Giger, Norris, &
Suro, 2012). The measure of this success can serve program administrators
in a way that allows further research of the most effective means of
achieving program goals. Accurate measurements can help to modify
existing intervention programs to benefit school children, or create new
programs based on the success of existing ones. Measurements that show a
positive result of physical activity in a classroom setting may encourage
teachers to maintain intervention program activities, which helps further
establish healthy behaviors in child participants. In the UK, physical activity
guidelines for schools have been established since 2011, after studies
indicated the benefits of learning-based health intervention programs
(Weichselbaum & Buttriss, 2014). This is the end goal of intervention
programs such as ones specified in this writing, and these programs can
serve as solutions to our current childrens health concerns.

References

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

Baker, C., Crone, D., Gidlow, C., Loughren, E., James, D., & Mahmood, T.
(2013). Looking at the feasibility of using a physical activity pathway
with children in school. British Journal of School Nursing, 8(7), 338345.
doi:10.12968/bjsn.2013.8.7.338
Bartholomew, J. B., & Jowers, E. M. (2011). Physically active academic
lessons in elementary children. Preventive Medicine, 52 Suppl 1, S51
54. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.01.017
Donnelly, J. E., Greene, J. L., Gibson, C. A., Smith, B. K., Washburn, R. A.,
Sullivan, D. K., Williams, S. L. (2009). Physical Activity Across the
Curriculum (PAAC): a randomized controlled trial to promote physical
activity and diminish overweight and obesity in elementary school
children. Preventive Medicine, 49(4), 336341.
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Donnelly, J. E., & Lambourne, K. (2011). Classroom-based physical activity,
cognition, and academic achievement. (Vol. 52, pp. S36S42).
Presented at the Preventive Medicine, Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.01.021
Engelen, L., Bundy, A. C., Naughton, G., Simpson, J. M., Bauman, A., Ragen,
J., van der Ploeg, H. P. (2013). Increasing physical activity in young
primary school children--its childs play: a cluster randomised
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doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.02.007

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Kibbe, D. L., Hackett, J., Hurley, M., McFarland, A., Schubert, K. G., Schultz, A.,
& Harris, S. (2011). Ten Years of TAKE 10!(): Integrating physical
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Kwak, L., Kremers, S. P. J., Bergman, P., Ruiz, J. R., Rizzo, N. S., & Sjstrm, M.
(2009). Associations between physical activity, fitness, and academic
achievement. The Journal of Pediatrics, 155(6), 914918.e1.
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Sothern, M. S. (2004). Obesity prevention in children: physical activity and
nutrition. Nutrition, 20(78), 704708. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2004.04.007
Weichselbaum, E., & Buttriss, J. L. (2014). Diet, nutrition and schoolchildren:
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Wright, K., Giger, J. N., Norris, K., & Suro, Z. (2013). Impact of a nursedirected, coordinated school health program to enhance physical
activity behaviors and reduce body mass index among minority
children: a parallel-group, randomized control trial. International
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