Evaluation of CHAM JAM Increasing Physical Activity Levels in Students
Condition: Physical Activity; Obesity
MeSH terms: Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to determine if the "Moving Smart" program, a daily 10-minute
      classroom-based exercise program, increases physical activity levels during the school day in
      Bronx elementary school students.
    

Detailed description: 
      Background: Medical and national public health authorities recommend daily school physical
      education for all ages due to well-known health benefits of physical activity. Nevertheless,
      daily physical education among elementary and secondary school students is not common in
      United States' (US) schools. Moreover, some of the schools in many US cities, such as the
      Bronx, do not even have gymnasiums or physical education teachers.

      Objective: We propose to implement and test the effectiveness and feasibility of the "Moving
      Smart" (MS) program, a daily, 10-minute classroom-based physical activity program led by
      teachers that integrate academic objectives with physical activity, on increasing physical
      activity (PA) levels during the school day in Bronx elementary school students.

      Design/ Methods: A cluster-randomized, wait-listed control trial of four Bronx elementary
      schools with one-year follow-up longitudinal study. Students in two intervention schools will
      receive the MS 3-times daily, for 10-minutes each time, in addition to regular physical
      education classes. Two wait-listed control schools will receive their regular physical
      education classes only. Subjects in the wait-listed control group will be offered the MS
      after the program is withdrawn from the intervention group at the end of the first year of
      study. A pedometer, an objective measure of PA in children, will be used to determine mean
      number of steps each student takes during school hours for 5 consecutive days at baseline,
      and every 3-months during the 2-year study period. For longitudinal follow-up, we will
      collect data from intervention group students and teachers on PA levels every 3-months for
      one-year after the intervention cessation. We will also collect yearly BMIs as a measure of
      overweight status. Descriptive statistics will be used to portray baseline characteristics of
      each group based on school, district, region, and NYC-wide data. The impact of the
      intervention on PA will be measured by comparing intervention and control schools using
      pedometer measurements as the primary dependent variable and students as the unit of
      analysis. We will collect fidelity measures by randomly selecting classes from the
      intervention schools and directly observing the level of PA present. We will determine the
      extent to which the MS becomes a part of the routine school policy by following the students
      and teachers from the intervention schools for 1-year after the intervention cessation.
    

Intervention name(s): CHAM JAM
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): CHAM JAM (previously known as Moving Smart" (MS) program) is a daily, 10-minute classroom-based physical activity program led by teachers that integrates academic objectives with physical activity
Other intervention name(s): Moving Smart Program; exercise program
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Physical activity; Obesity