AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION

OVERVIEW

The American Heart Association (AHA) Physical Activity Intervention is a school-based program designed to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease in children. The program has healthy living education and physical activity components. In an evaluation of the program, 18 schools were randomly assigned to have their students participate in one of the following three study groups: 1) the AHA Physical Activity Intervention, 2) the AHA Physical Activity Intervention for at-risk children, or 3) a physical education as usual control group. Results indicated that children in intervention groups experienced better results relative to controls on a variety of outcomes, including blood pressure and skinfold thickness. However, there were also no differences across groups on a number of important health outcomes, including BMI, physical activity, and diet.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Elementary school children.

The AHA Physical Activity Intervention is designed to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in children. The program is implemented in schools and includes healthy living curriculum and aerobic exercise components. It is implemented over an eight week period.

The healthy living education component is implemented twice a week over the eight-week period. The program curriculum includes information on selecting heart-healthy foods, the importance of getting regular exercise, the risks associated with smoking, and ways to resist peer pressure to smoke.

The physical activity component is implemented three times a week over the eight-week intervention period. The sessions had an aerobic exercise focus and included activities such as jumping rope, relay races, parachute games, and aerobic dance.

EVALUATION (S) OF PROGRAM

Harrell, J.S., Gansky, S.A., McMurray, R.G., Bangdiwala, S.I., Frauman, A., & Bradley, C.B. (1998). School-based interventions improve heart health in children with multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors. Pediatrics, 102(2), 371-380.

Evaluated population: 2,207 third- and fourth-grade children attending 18 elementary schools in the state of North Carolina served as the sample for this evaluation. Half of the schools in the sample were located in urban areas, and half were located in rural areas.

Approach: Schools were randomly selected to have their children participate in the study. Three school clusters were randomly selected within six region and urban/rural strata. Schools were then randomly assigned to 1) the AHA Physical Activity Intervention, 2) the AHA Physical Activity Intervention for at-risk children, or 3) a no-treatment control group.

Schools assigned to the AHA Physical Activity Intervention for at-risk children only had children participate in the program if they possessed one of the following two risk factors for cardiovascular disease: high cholesterol or obesity. The program was exactly as described above, with one exception: physical activity groups were smaller than a typical physical education class and were comprised of five to eight children.

Schools assigned to the no-treatment control group had their children attend their regular health and physical education classes.

Children were assessed at baseline and within two weeks of the intervention's conclusion. Participants were measured for cholesterol, blood pressure, skinfold thickness, BMI, exercising heart rate, physical activity, diet, and exercise and nutrition knowledge.

Results:

Cholesterol. At the individual level, children in the at-risk group and in the regular intervention group experienced significantly greater decreases in cholesterol relative to children in the control group. School level analyses found no significant differences across groups on this outcome, however.

Blood pressure. School level analyses found that participants in the regular intervention group experienced significantly lower increases in systolic blood pressure relative to control participants. There were no differences between controls and risk-based individuals. At the individual level, the at-risk condition experienced a significantly lower increase in systolic blood pressure relative to controls. However, there were no significant differences between regular intervention participants and controls. For diastolic blood pressure, there were no significant differences in change across the intervention groups at the school or individual levels.

Skinfold thickness. At the school level, there were no significant differences across study groups in changes in skinfold thickness. At the individual level, children in both the risk-based and regular intervention groups experienced a significantly greater decrease in skinfold thickness relative to controls.

BMI. There were no significant changes across groups on BMI at the school or individual level analyses.

Exercising heart rate. At the school level, there were no differences across intervention groups on measures of exercising heart rate. However, at the individual level, participants in the regular intervention group had significantly greater improvements in exercising heart rate relative to control participants.

Physical activity. There were no differences across groups on improvements in physical activity at the school or individual level analyses.

Diet. There were no differences across groups on improvements in fat intake at the school or individual level analyses.

Exercise and nutrition knowledge. School and individual level analyses showed that participants in both intervention groups had significantly more nutrition knowledge than controls. School level analyses found that individuals in both intervention groups had more exercise knowledge than individuals in the control group. However, at the individual level, the significant effect was only found for regular intervention students. Additionally, at the school level, individuals in the regular intervention group had more overall health knowledge than individuals in the control group. Finally, at the individual level, participants in both intervention groups had better overall health knowledge than controls.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: N/A

Evaluated participant grades: Grades 3 through 4

Program age ranges in the guide: Middle Childhood

Program components: School-Based

Measured outcomes: Physical Health

Keywords: Children, Elementary, Co-ed, School-based, Skills Training, Nutrition, Conditions.

Program information last updated on 10/1/09.

		© Child Trends 2003