Effects of a Peer-led Walking In ScHools Intervention

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Children and young people are recommended to undertake at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity each day. However recent findings have indicated that only 51% of children aged 7 years were meeting these guidelines. Previous research has also highlighted girls are significantly less active than. Furthermore, children living in Northern Ireland are least likely to meet the guidelines, with only 43.4% of children here reaching the recommended ≥ 60 minutes a day. The development of interventions which can successfully increase levels of physical activity in adolescent girls in Northern Ireland is of key importance. The aim of this intervention is to investigate whether or not girls (aged 11-13 years) can increase their daily levels of physical activity over a 12 week period by taking part in a school-based brisk walking intervention. The impact of participating in a school-based brisk walking intervention on a range of other outcome measures will also be investigated. A total sample of 200 adolescent females will be recruited onto the study, with recruitment of participants taking place at the school level. Following written consent from parents/guardians and assent from participants, participants will be randomised at the school level to either participate in the walking intervention or to act as controls. Objective physical activity will be assessed at 3 time points using an Actigraph accelerometer. At baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks) and follow up (4 months post-intervention) participants will also undergo measurements of height, weight, waist and hip circumference, bloody pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Participants will also complete questionnaires assessing levels of physical activity and a number of psychosocial variables at each time point. Following completion of follow up measurements, a sub-sample of participants (n=45) will be invited to take part in focus groups to evaluate their experiences of the intervention.

Official Title
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Effects of a Peer-led Walking In ScHools Intervention on Physical Activity Levels of Adolescent Girls: a School-based Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Physical Activity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Physical Activity


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 11-13 years old Female Attend a school selected to take part in the study Healthy and free from any medical condition that limits their participation in a brisk walking intervention, for example, a musculoskeletal injury Exclusion Criteria: Male pupils Those who are unable to walk or for whom walking is contraindicated will not be eligible for inclusion

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 11 Years
Maximum Age: 13 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: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Physical activity intervention group<br> | Behavioral: Physical Activity<br>* 15 mins physical activity per day within the school setting.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control group<br> | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Total daily physical activity | Measured for 7 consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometer at each time-point | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Physical activity intensity | Measured for 7 consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometer at each time-point | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Self-reported physical activity | Measured using Physical Activity Questionnaire for children | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Weight |  | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Blood pressure |  | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Cardiorespiratory fitness | Measured using the Queens College Step test | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Self-efficacy for physical activity | Psychosocial questionnaire - Children's physical activity self-efficacy scale | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Self-efficacy for walking | Psychosocial questionnaire - adapted walking self-efficacy scale | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Social support for physical activity and walking | Social support for physical activity and walking from male and female parents/guardians and friends scale | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Attitude to exercise | Psychosocial questionnaire - perceived benefits and barriers to exercise scale | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 
| Waist hip ratio |  | Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Physical activity, Walking, Intervention, Adolescent girls, Randomised trial