Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 42, Issue 3, March 2006, Pages 181-187
Preventive Medicine

Fit for Life Boy Scout badge: Outcome evaluation of a troop and Internet intervention

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2005.12.010Get rights and content

Abstract

Background.

This study reports the results of a 9-week intervention on the physical activity levels of adolescent males.

Methods.

Participants were 473 10- to 14-year-old Houston Boy Scouts (42 troops) with troops randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Data were collected in spring (16 troops) and fall (26 troop) waves during 2003. Intervention participants received a 9-week troop and Internet program to increase physical activity skills, self-efficacy and goal-setting. Physical activity was assessed at baseline, end of the intervention (Post#1) and post-6 months (Post#2) by accelerometer. Minutes of sedentary, light and moderate to vigorous physical activity were calculated. Repeated measure analyses were performed to test differences in physical activity over time between groups with participants nested in troops.

Results.

A three-way interaction (group * time * wave) that approached significance (P = 0.051) indicated a 12-min reduction in sedentary behavior among spring intervention participants. A significant three-way interaction (P = 0.011) (group * time * wave) indicated a 12-min increase in light intensity activity among the spring intervention group.

Conclusion.

Participation in the Fit for Life badge program resulted in a trend towards a small decrease in sedentary behavior and increased light intensity physical activity among spring participants only. There was no effect on moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Introduction

Physical activity has been associated with a decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (Sesso et al., 2000), type 2 diabetes (Kriska et al., 2003), obesity (Patrick et al., 2004) and some cancers (Lagerros et al., 2004, Slattery et al., 2003). The low physical activity levels of US adolescents (Jago et al., 2005a) suggest that interventions are needed. Community organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America have been identified as locations for increasing adolescent physical activity (Jago and Baranowski, 2004). A previous intervention focused on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption with Boy Scouts (Baranowski et al., 2002). Although the study resulted in increased fruit and vegetable consumption, the intervention sessions lasted an hour each week for 9 weeks, which limited troop leader enthusiasm (Baranowski et al., 2002). The aim of this study was to assess both the immediate and longer-term (6 month) effect of a Boy-Scout-based physical activity intervention using limited troop time and an Internet program targeting physical activity self-efficacy and preference change.

Section snippets

Participants and study design

Participants were 473 10- to 14-year-old Boy Scouts recruited from 42 troops within the greater Houston area. The study was conducted in two waves that started in spring (16 troops) or fall (26 troops) of 2003. The study was a randomized trial with troops assigned to intervention or control conditions after baseline data collection. Results are reported in accordance with the CONSORT statement (Moher et al., 2001). The intervention group participated in a physical activity intervention, while

Results

Participant characteristics are shown in Table 2. Participants were 13 years of age and predominantly Anglo-American. Parental education was significantly (P = 0.007) associated with intervention group and wave, with more participants living in households in which there was either a college or postgraduate educated adult in the fall than the spring and more in the control group than the intervention group.

Fig. 1 shows the flow of participants throughout the study and how the enrollment

Discussion

The Fit for Life Boy Scout badge intervention resulted in increased light intensity physical activity and a trend towards deceased sedentary behavior among spring participants. As there was no significant change among fall intervention participants, the results suggest a seasonal effect. This is consistent with previously reported seasonality in children's physical activity (Baranowski et al., 1993). The mean daytime temperature highs in Houston in May and November 2003 (when Post#1 data were

Conclusion

Participation in the Fit for Life Boy Scout badge program resulted in a 12-min increase in light intensity physical activity and a trend toward a 12-min decrease in sedentary behavior in a season conducive to increased physical activity but had no effect on the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity. More work is needed to find ways to increase moderate to vigorous physical activity and prevent weight gain among boys of this age.

Acknowledgments

This study was funded in part by a grant from the American Cancer Society, ACS TURSG-01. This work is also a publication of the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas. This project has been funded in part by federal funds from the USDA/ARS under co-operative agreement 58-6250-6001. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the USDA nor mention of

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