SCHOOL-BASED CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE AND NUTRITION PROGRAM WITH PARENT PARTICIPATION

OVERVIEW

The School-Based Cardiovascular Exercise and Nutrition Program with Parent Participation is designed to improve nutrition and increase physical activity in elementary school children. The program has physical fitness, nutrition, and family exercise and nutrition education components. Study findings suggest that children in the intervention group experience significant gains in exercise and nutrition knowledge and significant increases in fruit and vegetable intake, compared to control group children. However, there were no differences across groups on changes in weight, skinfold thickness, one-mile run times, or cholesterol, saturated fat, and grain/cereal intake.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Elementary school children and their parents.

The School-Based Cardiovascular Exercise and Nutrition Program with Parent Participation is designed to decrease fat and cholesterol intake and increase physical activity in children. The intervention has physical fitness, nutrition, and family exercise and nutrition education components.

The physical fitness education part of the program consists of four, 30-minute sessions delivered over the course of ten weeks. Sessions are comprised of both knowledge-based curriculum and mandatory physical exercise sessions. Curriculum includes lessons on warming-up and cooling-down, counting one’s pulse, calories expended during exercise, evaluating cardiovascular fitness, aerobic and anaerobic exercise, sports for aerobic fitness, and contraindicated exercises. The exercise sessions focus on cardiovascular fitness. Activities include noncompetitive games, educational gymnastics, dance and rhythmic activities, low organizational games, and fundamental movement skills.

The nutrition education component of the intervention consists of two, 30-minute knowledge-based curriculum sessions per week delivered over the course of ten weeks. Topics addressed in the sessions are tied to discussions on cardiovascular disease. Topics covered include reduction of saturated fat intake, preparing snacks using fruits and vegetables, preparing heart-healthy meals, reading food labels, consuming high fiber foods, consuming high energy foods, and preparing meat alternatives. Lessons are delivered using a range of methods, including hands-on preparation, films, games, group discussion, and role playing. Children are also encouraged to discuss nutrition topics with family members.

The family exercise and nutrition aspect of the program requires students to take nutrition and physical education curriculum materials home to their families so that they can engage in at-home lessons with their parents. Parents and children read a story depicting family members engaging in healthy activities together. Families also receive instructions for preparing healthy foods and exercising together. There is also an incentive system that rewards children with points each time the families completed one of the program activities. Points can be traded in for prizes. Additionally, parents are contacted by phone once a week to go over program progress.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Hopper, C.A., Munoz, K.D., Gruber, M.B., MacConnie, S., Schonfeldt, B., & Shunk, T. (1996). A school-based cardiovascular exercise and nutrition program with parent participation: An evaluation study. Children’s Health Care, 25(3), 221-235.

Evaluated population: Parents and their children attending two second grade classrooms and two fourth grade classrooms at an elementary school in a middle class, rural area of the United States served as the sample for this evaluation. The sample consisted of 97 children and 69 parents. The mean age of the children was 8.9 years, and the mean age of the parents was 36.9 years. Seventy-four percent of the parents in the study had “white collar” jobs (e.g., teacher, accountant, buyer, or professor).

Approach: Each of the participating four classes was randomly assigned to have its children either receive the School-Based Cardiovascular Exercise and Nutrition Program with Parent Participation intervention or to a no-treatment control group. Children in the control condition received their regularly scheduled health and physical education curriculums. Children in the intervention group participated in the ten week program, as described above, in addition to their regularly scheduled curriculums. Children also participated in the at-home activities with their families.

Children’s height, weight, sum of skinfolds, and performance on a one-mile timed run were assessed at baseline and at post-test. Parent- and child- data on nutrition and physical activity knowledge, as well as dietary intake in the past 24 hours were also collected.

Results: Results indicate that children in the intervention group scored significantly higher than children in the control group on measures of fitness and nutrition knowledge (a small effect size of .18). Furthermore, intervention children reported greater increases in fruit and vegetable intake by the conclusion of the intervention period relative to control children (a small effect size of .05). Intervention and control children did not differ on changes in height, weight, skinfold thickness, one-mile run times, or cholesterol, saturated fat, and grain/cereal intake.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References:

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: N/A

Evaluated participant grades: Second and Fourth grades

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, Rural and/or Frontier, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Weight, Obesity, Middle Childhood (6 to 11)

Program information last updated on 8/3/09.

		© Child Trends 2003