TY  - JOUR
T1  - EFfects of a life skills intervention for increasing physical activity in adolescent girls
AU  - Young D, Phillips JA, Yu T, Haythornthwaite JA
Y1  - 2006/12/01
N1  - 10.1001/archpedi.160.12.1255
JO  - Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
SP  - 1255
EP  - 1261
VL  - 160
IS  - 12
N2  - Background 
    Although adolescence is a time when physical activity levels decline, few interventions have targeted high school–aged girls in the school setting.Objective 
    To evaluate the effects of a life skills–oriented physical activity intervention for increasing overall physical activity in high school–aged girls.Design 
    Randomized controlled trial.Setting 
    Baltimore magnet high school.Participants 
    A total of 221 ninth-grade girls, 83.0% of whom were African American.Intervention 
    Participants were randomized to an 8-month physical intervention conducted in physical education class or to a standard physical education class (control).Main Outcome Measures 
    Self-reported estimated daily energy expenditure (physical activity), self-reported sedentary activities (television viewing and computer or Internet use), cardiorespiratory fitness, and selected cardiovascular disease risk factors.Results 
    Intervention classes spent 46.9% of physical education class time in moderate to vigorous activity compared with 30.5% of time for control classes (P<.001). There were no significant between-treatment group differences for mean daily energy expenditure (P = .93), moderate-intensity energy expenditure (P = .77), or hard to very hard energy expenditure (P = .69). The proportion of participants who spent 3 or more hours viewing television during school days declined from 22.3% to 17.0% in the intervention group, but remained at 26.7% for the control group (P = .03). Both groups improved their cardiorespiratory fitness (P<.001).Conclusion 
    A life skills–oriented physical education curriculum may need to be combined with other approaches to increase the magnitude of effects on physical activity behavior in predominantly African American high school–aged girls.
SN  - 1072-4710
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archpedi.160.12.1255
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.160.12.1255
ER  -