Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG)
Condition: Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Diseases; Obesity
MeSH terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Diseases
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 2

Summary: 
      To test the effectiveness of a multicomponent school-based and community-linked intervention
      in preventing the decline in physical activity levels and cardiovascular fitness in girls in
      grades 6-8.
    

Detailed description: 
      BACKGROUND:

      The Report of the Surgeon General on Physical Activity and Health (USDHHS, 1996) emphasized
      that regular physical activity has important health benefits including reducing the risk of
      heart disease, and helping to treat and prevent high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and
      diabetes, and to prevent osteoporosis and colon cancer. In addition, physical activity helps
      control weight, reduces feelings of depression and anxiety, and promotes psychological well
      being. Inactivity increases with age and is more common among women than men and among those
      with lower income, less education, and in minorities (USDHHS, 1996). Even though adolescents
      are more active than adults, many do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity,
      and participation declines with age throughout adolescence, especially in girls (USDHHS,
      1996; CDC, 1997). Fourteen percent of teenage girls get no regular exercise, twice the
      percentage as for boys. The proportion of adolescent girls who participate in regular
      vigorous physical activity declines dramatically each year they are in high school, from 61
      percent among 9th graders to 41percent among 12th grade girls. In high school, enrollment for
      girls in daily physical education classes dropped from 41 percent in 1991 to 25 percent in
      1995. Both the CDC report (1997) and the Surgeon General's Report (USDHHS, 1996) recommended
      the need for research testing the effectiveness of a coordinated school-based physical
      activity intervention linked to community agency programs to increase physical activity by
      adolescent girls.

      The study is the result of a Request for Applications released in January, 2000. Awards were
      made in September 2000.

      DESIGN NARRATIVE:

      The purpose of the multicenter randomized trial is to test the effectiveness of a
      multicomponent school-based and community-linked intervention in preventing the decline in
      physical activity levels and cardiovascular fitness in middle school girls (i.e., in grades
      6-8). The interventions will provide skills-building, supportive environments, and
      opportunities for participation in physical activity during and outside of the school day.
      Phase 1 will be 24 months for protocol development and pilot work, Phase II is 44 months for
      two years of intervention and one year of follow-up, and Phase III is 4 months for close out
      of the Study Centers, and 16 months for the Coordinating Center to collaboratively analyze
      and report the results.

      The randomized trial of 36 middle schools (6 per field site) will collect data by two-cross
      sectional samples, one taken at the sixth grade (at least 1,728 girls) in the Spring of 2003
      and the other taken at the eighth grade (at least 3,456 girls) in the Spring of 2005.
      Follow-up data collection will also occur at the eighth grade in the Spring of 2006.
    

Intervention name(s): Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG)
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Intervention activities were designed to create (1) environmental and organizational changes supportive of physical activity and (2) cues, messages, and incentives to be more active. The intervention was designed to establish more opportunities, improve social support and norms, and increase self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and behavioral skills to foster greater moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). An innovative feature of TAAG was linking school and community agencies to promote activity programs for girls. Finally, a TAAG Program Champion component was developed to foster sustainability after the 2-year staff-directed intervention. TAAG investigators recruited and trained Program Champions during the staff-directed intervention phase to promote maintenance of the program.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention