There is limited research on the types of activities that are most effective for promoting MVPA in children.
Childhood overweight is a major health problem in the United States. The overweight prevalence defined as
Physical inactivity is deemed a major factor contributing to the energy imbalance that leads to excess adiposity [
After controlling for age and gender, overweight children are likely to have lower levels of physical activity than their nonoverweight counterparts [
Ethnic differences in physical activity levels have also been observed, with Latino and African American children showing lower levels of physical activity than their White counterparts [
Thirty-seven girls (27 Latina and 10 African American) participated in this study. They were part of a larger three-week family-based healthy lifestyle summer intervention titled Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition, Counseling, and Exercise (BOUNCE) [
As part of the BOUNCE intervention, girls participated in group sessions of exercise, nutrition education, and behavioral counseling for three weeks, 5 days (Monday–Friday) per week, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day. A detailed description of the nutrition and behavioral counseling components of the BOUNCE intervention are specified elsewhere [
Weekly offered bounce exercise sessions.
Category | Activity | Target intensity | *Duration (minutes) | |||
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Total | |||
Flexibility | Yoga/Stretching | Light | 30 | 30 | 60 | 120 |
Pilates/Stretching | 30 | 30 | 30 | 90 | ||
Ballet/Stretching | 30 | 30 | 30 | 90 | ||
Sports skills | Basketball | Light-moderate | 60 | 0 | 60 | 120 |
Walking | 60 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
Soccer | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 | ||
Badminton | 0 | 60 | 60 | 120 | ||
Tennis | 0 | 105 | 0 | 105 | ||
Self defense | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 | ||
Games | Survivor game | Light-moderate | 75 | 0 | 0 | 75 |
Amazing race | 0 | 75 | 0 | 75 | ||
Traditional fitness | Step aerobics | Moderate-vigorous | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 |
Spinning/circuit | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 | ||
Circuit training | 0 | 60 | 60 | 120 | ||
Kickboxing | 60 | 60 | 0 | 120 | ||
Dancing | Rumba fitness | Light-moderate | 60 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
Salsa | 0 | 0 | 60 | 60 | ||
Hip hop | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 | ||
Cheerleading | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 | ||
Modern dance | 0 | 0 | 60 | 60 | ||
Line dancing | 0 | 60 | 0 | 60 |
*Including 5 minutes warm-up and 5 minutes cool-down and instructional times.
The BOUNCE exercise program was standardized with a typical day beginning with a
Instructors certified by the nationally recognized Cooper Institute led exercise sessions at a gymnasium and dance studio located on a university campus. In addition, 3 exercise science undergraduate students assisted instructors and participants during the exercise sessions. For instance, during the exercise session these students mingled with the participants to encourage them with positive praise, to show them how to perform a movement, and to assist them if they were confused or not feeling well. Instructors and exercise assistants participated in four meetings prior to the BOUNCE program to discuss the standardization of the exercise program.
The BOUNCE exercise program was designed to be enjoyable and appealing by allowing participants to use various pieces of exercise equipment (e.g., colorful jump ropes, resistance bands, and hula hoops) and colead some of the exercise sessions, by using several of the participants’ favorite music in the exercise sessions, and by partnering participants with others as “buddies.” In addition, we employed other strategies to encourage active participation. First, we asked participants to sign a contract at the beginning of the exercise program by which they agreed to participate in all physical activities. Second, participants received weekly reports of their levels of physical activity achieved in the previous week. Third, prizes were awarded to participants who reached weekly goals. Fourth, participants received handouts on the exercise benefits, components of a healthy lifestyle, and strategies for overcoming barriers to being physically active.
Baseline demographic data consisted of questions about age, date and place of birth, and self-described ethnicity. Anthropometric assessments were conducted at baseline and postintervention and included body weight and height measured to the nearest 0.1 kg and 0.1 cm, respectively, using a scale (Tanita TBF 215) and a stadiometer. Height was determined without shoes with the heels of both feet together and the toes pointed slightly outward at approximately a 60-degree angle, arms were at sides, and shoulders were level. Heels, buttocks, and back of the head were touching the vertical backboard and we lowered the headpiece until it firmly touched the crown of the head. BMI was calculated using Quetelet’s index (body weight (kilograms)/height2 (meters)). BMI values were then used to identify the age- and gender-specific percentile for each child using CDC growth charts [
Actical accelerometers (Mini Mitter, a Respironics Co., Bend, OR) were used to measure frequency, duration, and intensity of physical activity objectively for 15 days. The Actical is a lightweight accelerometer built from a cantilevered rectangular piezoelectric bimorph plate and seismic mass, which is sensitive to movement in all directions. Actical stores movement information as activity counts. For the proposed study, each participant was shown the placement procedures for the Actical accelerometer at the right hip just above the iliac crest using an elastic strap and plastic buckle to secure the accelerometer around the waist. Participants were instructed to wear the accelerometer daily throughout the BOUNCE intervention (Monday–Friday) from arrival time to the end of the last BOUNCE exercise session. The Actical accelerometer was programmed to collect data from the beginning of the first exercise session at 9:00 AM until the end of the last exercise session at 5:00 PM. The accelerometers were set to record in 60-second epochs. Each day a research assistant logged the start and end times of each physical activity session and recorded the participant’s attendance.
Upon completion of each five-day intervention week, accelerometer data (activity counts per minute) were downloaded into the Actical program and exported to an Excel spreadsheet for initial analysis. In the initial examination, data completeness was verified against an exercise log and attendance roster. After this initial data screening, activity counts were summed for each day and each activity. Activity counts per minute were partitioned as moderate-vigorous (MVPA:
Descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations, ranges) were calculated for all variables. The primary study variables included the average number of daily minutes spent in MVPA as well as LPA and SA. Repeated measures ANOVA with repeated contrasts was employed to determine changes in the average daily minutes of MVPA with each successive week of the program (i.e., week 1 to week 2 and week 2 to week 3) and to determine if the percent time spent in MVPA differed significantly among the activity categories. Alpha was set at 0.05. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS statistical package, version 15.0.
Of the 37 participants, data from six participants were excluded from the analysis because they did not have at least 12 days of accelerometer data reducing the final sample to 31. No significant differences were found between those who completed at least 12 days of accelerometer data and those who did not. Twenty-three percent of the participants were classified as overweight and 77% were classified as obese with a mean (
Girls’ average time spent in MVPA improved each week (week 1 = 60.47 minutes
Participants’ percentage of time spent in MVPA across each of the different 21 physical activity sessions is presented in Figure
Mean and standard deviations of percentage of time spent in MVPA.
A statistical analysis comparing MVPA across the five activity categories indicated that traditional fitness sessions yielded significantly more MVPA than dancing and games sessions (
The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to determine which types of physical activities generated the highest proportion of MVPA in overweight minority girls. Findings indicate that traditional fitness activities were the most effective in yielding the highest proportion of MVPA in overweight minority girls while flexibility activities were the least effective with sports skills, dance, and games falling in the middle. An examination of specific physical activities revealed that step aerobics and rumba fitness elicited the highest proportions of MVPA followed by spinning/circuit training and Salsa. In contrast, Pilates sessions elicited the least proportion of MVPA. Thus, these results suggest that it is advisable to offer a variety of traditional fitness activities as well as some culturally appropriate activities such as rumba fitness to elicit MVPA in overweight Latina and African-American girls.
Based on objective measurements of physical activity, it was observed that on average, 62% of participants met MVPA recommended 60 min
To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies conducted with Latina and African-American girls which assessed MVPA objectively during 15 days of intermittent and sustained physical activity, matched with a valid record of physical activities offered during the intervention. The majority of research to date has focused on total daily minutes of physical activity in a free-living environment and has relied on self-report activity logs [
The authors wish to thank the families who participated in this study. Our deepest appreciation is intended for all interns, volunteers, instructors, and coordinators, who spent countless hours in the preparation, implementation, and data collection of this study. In addition, we would like to recognize ARAMARK for contributing food and beverages to this study. This work was supported by St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities Foundation, Oliver Foundation (0FG040307) and the University of Houston, College of Education Faculty Research Award Grant (0001449725).