Georgia FitKid Project

GEORGIA FITKID PROJECT

OVERVIEW

The FitKid Project is an eight-month afterschool program for elementary school students to bring positive changes in body composition, cardiovascular fitness, blood pressure, and cholesterol. The program is intended to create a “fitogenic” environment that encourages positive health benefits. No significant impacts have been found for this program.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target Population: third-grade children in public schools in Georgia

The FitKid program is designed to be open, desirable, and easily accessible. Efforts were made to make the program culturally sensitive by making sure some of the staff in the FitKid program are African American and by using ethnically diverse images in the print material. Children are allowed to help make decisions, such as the activities for the day, and the program is designed to be accessible by conducting the program in the child’s school. Healthy snacks and homework assistance (40 minutes), as well as free transportation, are provided for the children.

The fitness part of the program (two hours) is designed to keep all participants moving continuously, for example, games and skill-building activities are modified to encourage longer periods of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Positive reinforcement is encouraged, and the staff are teachers and coaches from the local schools.

Cost Information: The cost of implementing the program was split up in four main ways: 63 percent for program staff salary, four percent for instructor training, seven percent for intervention material, and 25 percent for transportation. This resulted in a total cost of $174,070, or $558 per student for the entire seven months.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Yin, Z., Gutin, B., Johnson, M. H., Hanes, J., Moore, J. B., Cavnar, M., et al. (2005). An environmental approach to obesity prevention in children: Medical College of Georgia FitKid Project year 1 results. Obesity Research, 13(12), 2153-2161.

Evaluated Population: FitKid was evaluated in eighteen public schools in Augusta/Richmond County. A final, total sample of 447 third-grade children was evaluated. At baseline (N=601), the children were 61 percent black, 31 percent white, and 8 percent “other race.” Forty-eight percent were boys, and 68 percent were eligible for free/reduced-price lunch.

Approach: Eighteen schools were randomized either to the FitKid intervention or to a control group. Measures taken were body-mass index, waist, percent body fat, fat mass, fat-free mass, cardiovascular disease risk factors, cardiovascular fitness, systolic blood pressure (the top number), diastolic blood pressure (bottom number), non-fasting total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (good cholesterol), Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (reading, English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies achievement).

Body composition measures were taken with a specialized x-ray machine. Cardiovascular fitness was measured by heart rate. Blood pressure was taken with a mobile machine that automatically takes measurements and fills a cuff around the arm with air. Cholesterol was measured with a machine that takes information from a finger prick. The Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests are standardized exams taken by Georgia students at the end of the school year.

Results: Although positive trends were noted, no significant impacts were found on any of the measures compared between the FitKid group children and the control group children at the end of the first year of the project.

SOURCES FOR INFORMATION

References:

Yin, Z., Hanes, J., Moore, J. B., Humbles, P., Barbeau, P., & Gutin, B. (2005). An after-school physical activity program for obesity prevention in children: The Medical College of Georgia FitKid Project. Evaluation and the Health Professions, 28(1), 67-89.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated Participant Ages: Middle Childhood (6-11)

Program Components: School-based

Measured Outcomes: Physical Health

KEYWORDS: Children (3-11); Elementary; Males and Females (Co-ed); White/Caucasian; Black/African American; Cost Information is Available; School-Based; After School Program; Health Status/Conditions; Obesity; Other Education; Reading/Literacy; Mathematics.

Last Updated: 6/10/10