Test of an Intervention to Increase Physical Activity Among School Children
Condition: Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The specific aims of this study are to: 1) evaluate the impact of a novel intervention
      delivered via school-based physical education (PE) on adolescents who have a high sensitivity
      to exercise-induced negative affect; 2) determine whether adolescents' tendency to feel
      uncomfortable during exercise is a stable trait that persists even in the face of an
      intervention; and 3) compare and contrast three alternative methods of measuring adolescents'
      sensitivity to exercise-induced affect.

      Healthy middle-school students who do not participate in team or individual competitive
      sports will be recruited and assessed to determine their existing predisposition toward
      exercise (i.e., "reluctant exercisers" and "latent exercisers"). The assessment will be
      conducted using three methods that have been used to measure individuals' propensity to
      experience positive affect in the face of a stimulus: 1) a pencil-and-paper assessment that
      measures tendency to respond to a challenge with positive affect; 2) electroencephalogram
      (EEG) to ascertain frontal cortical asymmetry; and 3) empirically assessed affective response
      to a standardized exercise task. Reluctant and latent exercisers will be assigned in equal
      numbers to one of two conditions. One condition will implement a PE-based intervention that
      differs from the traditional approach in that students will be instructed to exercise at an
      intensity that has been determined to elicit positive affect in that individual (based on
      baseline testing). In the other condition, students will be instructed to exercise at an
      intensity derived from standard formulas typically used in exercise prescriptions. It is
      hypothesized that the non-traditional approach will increase reluctant exercisers' enjoyment
      of PE and also their level of participation in physical activity outside of PE. The latter
      will be determined using portable monitors (accelerometers) worn at baseline, after the
      intervention, and again 1 year after the end of the intervention.
    

Detailed description: 
      This project addresses the current epidemic in obesity and physical inactivity among
      adolescents in the United States. The goal of the research is to develop effective ways of
      encouraging adolescents to become and remain physically active. In particular, this project
      is concerned with identifying adolescents who are reluctant to exercise because they have a
      high sensitivity to unpleasant feelings while exercising at higher intensities. Once
      identified, these adolescents can be targeted with an intervention that is designed to teach
      them to exercise at an intensity level that will generate pleasant feelings and therefore
      make it more likely that they will seek out opportunities to be physically active. The
      specific aims of this study are to: 1) evaluate the impact of a novel intervention delivered
      via school-based physical education (PE) on adolescents who have a high sensitivity to
      exercise-induced negative affect; 2) determine whether adolescents' tendency to feel
      uncomfortable during exercise is a stable trait that persists even in the face of an
      intervention; and 3) compare and contrast three alternative methods of measuring adolescents'
      sensitivity to exercise-induced affect.

      Healthy middle-school students who do not participate in team or individual competitive
      sports will be recruited and assessed to determine their existing predisposition toward
      exercise (i.e., "reluctant exercisers" and "latent exercisers"). The assessment will be
      conducted using three methods that have been used to measure individuals' propensity to
      experience positive affect in the face of a stimulus: 1) a pencil-and-paper assessment that
      measures tendency to respond to a challenge with positive affect; 2) electroencephalogram
      (EEG) to ascertain frontal cortical asymmetry; and 3) empirically assessed affective response
      to a standardized exercise task. Reluctant and latent exercisers will be assigned in equal
      numbers to one of two conditions. One condition will implement a PE-based intervention that
      differs from the traditional approach in that students will be instructed to exercise at an
      intensity that has been determined to elicit positive affect in that individual (based on
      baseline testing). In the other condition, students will be instructed to exercise at an
      intensity derived from standard formulas typically used in exercise prescriptions. It is
      hypothesized that the non-traditional approach will increase reluctant exercisers' enjoyment
      of PE and also their level of participation in physical activity outside of PE. The latter
      will be determined using portable monitors (accelerometers) worn at baseline, after the
      intervention, and again 1 year after the end of the intervention.

      This study is relevant to the prevention of type 2 diabetes in that it addresses the
      mechanisms of physical activity behavior change among adolescents. This developmental period
      is typically characterized by declining participation in physical activity, and thus
      represents a critical period for intervention. The results will increase understanding about
      why some adolescents remain active while others do not and will test a novel intervention
      that may be more effective among reluctant exercisers.
    

Intervention name(s): feeling states exercise intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): exercise prescription based on intensity of exercise that feels good.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Investigator)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: adolescents; exercise; fitness; school-based