Clinical-based behavioral intervention shows promise in modifying TV viewing and physical activity

(12.) Faith et al. (2001). Effects of contingent television on physical activity and television viewing in obese children. Pediatrics, 107, 1043-1048.

Target Group: Ten obese 10-12 year old children

Program Name: unknown

Location: Northeastern United States

Study Objective: To evaluate the effects of contingent TV on physical activity and sedentary behaivor in 10 obese children.

Study Design:
- 12 week intervention, including a 2 week baseline period
- randomized design
- 10 obese children; 3 girls and 7 boys
- primary outcome measures were pedaling and TV-viewing time, which were continually recorded by a micro-computer; other outcomes such as body mass indexes, and health-related fitness measures were also collected using standardized tests and instruments

Intervention or Program:
- intervention consisted of a cycle ergometer (bike) that interfaced with a TV so that pedaling was necessary to activate the television;
- control condition allowed for television viewing not contingent on pedaling ; cycle ergometer (bike) was made available in home

Impact on Physical Activity:
- intervention significantly increased pedaling and reduced television viewing time
- the experimental group pedaled 64.4 minutes per week on average, compared with 8.3 minutes by controls
- the experimental group watched an average of 22.8 hours of television before the intervention, and an average of 1.6 hours during the intervention phase.
- this study demonstrates the potential utility of behavioral interventions to modify the relationship between sedentary activity (TV watching) and physical activity