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Pilot study of a family physical activity planning intervention among parents and their children

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Abstract

Physical activity interventions among youth have resulted in modest outcomes; thus, there is a need to increase the theoretical fidelity of interventions and hone pilot work before embarking on large scale trials. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a planning intervention in comparison to a standard condition on intergenerational physical activity in families with young children. Inactive families (N = 85) were randomized to either a standard condition (received physical activity guidelines and a local municipal healthy active living guide) or the intervention (physical activity guidelines, local municipal healthy active living guide + planning material) after completing a baseline questionnaire package. Sixty-five families (standard condition n = 34; intervention condition n = 31) completed the 4 week follow-up questionnaire package. Complete cases and intention to treat analyses showed that the planning intervention resulted in higher self-reported family physical activity compared to the standard condition and this was due to an increase in unstructured family activities over the 4 weeks. The results are promising and suggest that theoretical fidelity targeting parent regulation of family activity may be a helpful approach to increasing weekly energy expenditure.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) from the British Columbia Ministry of Family. RER was also supported by Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and Canadian Institutes for Health Research salary support awards during the tenure of this research. We acknowledge and thank Naomi Casiro and Thalia Parkinson for the hard work of data collection and entry on this study.

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Correspondence to Ryan E. Rhodes.

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Rhodes, R.E., Naylor, PJ. & McKay, H.A. Pilot study of a family physical activity planning intervention among parents and their children. J Behav Med 33, 91–100 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-009-9237-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-009-9237-0

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