Effect of a Female Strength & Conditioning Specialist on High School Girls' Health

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The majority of today's youth do not engage in enough physical activity (PA) to maintain good health. Low PA levels are associated with poor health (e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure) and early mortality. Girls are less likely than boys to be active, and their rates of participation drop off more steeply during adolescence. Girls report many barriers to exercise, including transportation issues and feeling self-conscious about their appearance and abilities. School-based PA programs that try to improve health, mainly through aerobic exercise and education, have had a small effect to date. However, the few programs that included resistance training as the focus showed strong improvements in health related measures. In this project, we will examine the effect of a female strength and conditioning specialist on decreasing barriers and increasing the overall health of high school girls, with the delivery of in-school, girls-only resistance training programs. We will see if physical and mental health changes with the training, and how the presence of the S & C specialist affects the girls' social interactions within the school. The results will help individuals in the education sector plan programs and services to improve overall youth and school health.

Official Title
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Girls in the Weight Room: Assessing the Influence of a Female School-based Strength & Conditioning Specialist on the Health of High School Girls

Conditions
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Physical Inactivity, Low Physical Fitness

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Girls-only resistance training


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Grades 7 to 12 at Grant Park High School do not participate on organized sports teams self-report as not meeting the recommended amount of 60 min of Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity per day Exclusion Criteria: engaged in regular resistance training activities within the previous 6 months health condition or injury that would put them at risk during testing/training

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 13 Years
Maximum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Girls-only resistance training<br>8 weeks of 2-3x/week girls-only resistance training class with a female strength and conditioning specialist. | Other: Girls-only resistance training<br> <br> |
| No Intervention: No resistance training<br>8 weeks of usual activity. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Repetition Maximum leg press |  | Change from Baseline and at 8 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Repetition Maximum bench press |  | Baseline and at 8 weeks | 
| Grip strength dynamometry | The average of three repetitions for each hand will be used in analysis | Baseline and at 8 weeks | 
| mCAFT for aerobic fitness |  | Baseline and at 8 weeks | 
| Physical activity levels | Average daily minutes spent in Sedentary, Low, Moderate and Vigorous intensity activity over 5 days will be measured via an accelerometer worn around the waist. | Baseline and at 8 weeks | 
| Physical Self-Perception Profile | 36 item questionnaire; scores for embedded scales of Strength Competence, Physical Self-Worth, Global Self-Worth, and Attractive Body Adequacy will be calculated. | Baseline and at 8 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Resistance Training; Muscle Strength