Clinical trial NCT02810834: Understanding the Impact of School-Based Physical Activity Programs
Official title: Understanding the Impact of School-Based Physical Activity Programs
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Physical Activity
Keywords: Executive Function
Academic Performance
Lead sponsor: Tufts University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
name: University of California, San Diego
First posted: 2016-06-23
Enrollment: 1182
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 7
Maximum age (years): 11
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: The central hypothesis of the Fueling Learning Through Exercise (FLEX) study is two innovative school-based physical activity programs (a walking/running program and a classroom activity break program) will increase school-time and total daily minutes children engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, relative to controls, and that children who attend schools with these PA programs will demonstrate improved cognitive functioning, academic achievement, and attendance, relative to controls.

Detailed description: The FLEX Study is a three-year, randomized control trial that seeks to understand how two different innovative school-based physical activity (PA) programs influence not only children's time spent in MVPA but also their cognitive and academic outcomes. The FLEX Study will be implemented and evaluated by researchers from Tufts University. The project is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Schools participating in the study will be randomly assigned to receive a walking/running program, a classroom physical activity program, or no program (control) during first year and a half of the study. Third and fourth grade children will be enrolled in the study.

Physical activity will be assessed objectively using accelerometry. Additional measurements will include: BMI/BMI-z (measured height and weight), diet and physical activity questionnaires, cognitive functioning (tests of working memory and inhibitory control).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Children participants 3rd or 4th grade student in participating school (during first school year of study)

Exclusion Criteria:

Not a 3rd or 4th grade student

Primary outcomes:
measure: School-time and total daily MVPA
timeFrame: 5 months and 1.5 years
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Cognitive performance
timeFrame: 5 months and 1.5 years
measure: Academic achievement
timeFrame: 5 months and 1.5 years
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Boston
country: United States
facility: Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: Tufts University
name: Jennifer M Sacheck, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Neil-Sztramko SE, Caldwell H, Dobbins M. School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Sep 23;9(9):CD007651. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007651.pub3.
citation: Sacheck JM, Wright CM, Amin SA, Anzman-Frasca S, Chomitz VM, Chui KK, Duquesnay PJ, Nelson ME, Economos CD. The Fueling Learning Through Exercise Study Cluster RCT: Impact on Children's Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity. Am J Prev Med. 2021 Jun;60(6):e239-e249. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.01.002. Epub 2021 Mar 26.
citation: Wright CM, Chomitz VR, Duquesnay PJ, Amin SA, Economos CD, Sacheck JM. The FLEX study school-based physical activity programs - measurement and evaluation of implementation. BMC Public Health. 2019 Jan 16;19(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6335-3.
citation: Amin SA, Duquesnay PJ, Wright CM, Chui K, Economos CD, Sacheck JM. The Association Between Perceived Athletic Competence and Physical Activity: Implications for Low-Income Schoolchildren. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2018 Aug 1;30(3):433-440. doi: 10.1123/pes.2017-0242. Epub 2018 Mar 15.
citation: Wright CM, Duquesnay PJ, Anzman-Frasca S, Chomitz VR, Chui K, Economos CD, Langevin EG, Nelson ME, Sacheck JM. Study protocol: the Fueling Learning through Exercise (FLEX) study - a randomized controlled trial of the impact of school-based physical activity programs on children's physical activity, cognitive function, and academic achievement. BMC Public Health. 2016 Oct 13;16(1):1078. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3719-0.