Long-Term Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention in High School Girls
Background
Physical activity (PA) decreases during childhood and adolescence, and PA levels are significantly lower in females than males, particularly during adolescence. Schools are attractive settings in which to implement interventions designed to promote PA in girls and young women, but few studies have tested the sustained effects of such interventions.
Design
Cross-sectional. Data were collected in 2002–2003 and analyzed in 2006–2007.
Setting/participants
1594 adolescent girls in 22 high schools.
Intervention
The intervention, Lifestyle Education for Activity Program (LEAP), was designed to increase physical activity in 9th-grade girls through two channels: changes in instructional practices and changes in the school environment. This study (LEAP 2) examined the extent to which effects of the intervention were maintained when the girls were in the 12th grade.
Main outcome measures
Number of 30-minute blocks per day of vigorous physical activity.
Results
Girls in the intervention schools that most fully implemented and maintained the intervention were more likely than girls in the other schools to participate in an average of one or more blocks of vigorous physical activity per day (p=0.04, odds ratio=1.49, 95% confidence interval=1.01–2.20).
Conclusions
A comprehensive physical activity intervention that is fully implemented and maintained can increase participation in vigorous physical activity by high school girls.
aDepartment of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
bDepartment of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
cDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
dDepartment of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
eDepartment of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Russell R. Pate, PhD, University of South Carolina, Department of Exercise Science, 921 Assembly St., Columbia SC 29208.
ABSTRACT