A multi-component, school-based intervention to increase physical activity for boys and girls with obesity/overweight, ages 10-12, resulted in significant changes in almost all targeted variables, reports the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
The 7-month intervention focused on health-related motor activities, exercise training, and behavioral management skills.
At the conclusion, participants demonstrated improvement in physical activity levels, perceived physical ability, and throwing/jumping skills.
Why It Matters
Increasing physical activity levels for youth with obesity/overweight is a notoriously complex challenge. This multi-component, multi-discipline study suggests that interventions to increase physical activity should not only focus on increasing movement and physical activity, but also emphasize the importance of improving self-efficacy and increasing a participant’s perception of physical ability. The study also supports the high importance of identifying and encouraging physical activities that are enjoyable to achieve sustainable behavior change.
