Effects of a three-year intervention on children’s physical activity from age 4 to 7.

Arja Sääkslahti, Pirkko Numminen, Pia Salo, Juhani Tuominen, Hans Helenius and Ilkka Välimäki. Pediatric Exercise Science, 16, 167-180 (2004).

Target Group: Preschool aged children in their daily living environment, both girls and boys.

Program Name: STRIP (Special Turku Coronary Risk-Factor Intervention Project) Physical Activity Intervention

Location: Turku, Finland

Study Objective: To measure weekend physical activity levels of children to determine whether it was possible to influence it through a family-based intervention.

Study Design:
Three year longitudinal project using family education and physical activity diaries with control and intervention groups.

Intervention or Program:

• Social learning theory was used as a model for this study.
• Parents of control group only received information on how to correctly fill out the PA diary. While intervention group children were instructed on how to correctly complete the physical activity diary and also the following:
  • Parents of intervention group children annually received information, concrete suggestions and demonstrations on how, when and where to encourage their child's physical activity delivered by a physical education teacher.
  • Families were given a board game focusing on physical activities, designed to activate indoor play
  • Educational follow up sessions were provided annually on: the importance of sensory integration; physical activity-based research and local options for children's physical activity.
  • Physical activity posters were provided twice yearly.
  • Two review articles, “Does a Child Need Physical Activity?” and “Outdoor Play—What to Do, and How to Do It” were given to parents in the final two years.
  • During the second year, parents were asked to listen to a radio program titled “The Importance of Being Physically Active”, produced by the project researchers.

Impact on Physical Activity:

• Children in the intervention group spent more time playing outdoors than children in the control group, and play in the high-activity category increased with age, while no change occurred in the control group.
• Long term counseling of families appears to be effective in supporting an increase in young children's physical activity.
• Can influence weekend PA levels

Implications for practitioners:

• Providing information to parents can have an impact on their children's physical activity.
• Radio programs provide an interesting method of social marketing as a means to reach families about physical activity messaging.
• Physical activity diaries may provide motivation to engage in physical activity for children.

Author's Email: Arja Sääkslahti: saakslahti@norssi.jyu.fi