Feasibility trial evaluation of a physical activity and screen-viewing course for parents of 6 to 8 year-old children: Teamplay

Abstract

BackgroundMany children spend too much time screen-viewing (watching TV, surfing the internet and playing video games) and do not meet physical activity (PA) guidelines. Parents are important influences on children’s PA and screen-viewing (SV). There is a shortage of parent-focused interventions to change children’s PA and SV.MethodsTeamplay was a two arm individualized randomized controlled feasibility trial. Participants were parents of 6–8 year old children. Intervention participants were invited to attend an eight week parenting program with each session lasting 2 hours. Children and parents wore an accelerometer for seven days and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) were derived. Parents were also asked to report the average number of hours per day that both they and the target child spent watching TV. Measures were assessed at baseline (time 0) at the end of the intervention (week 8) and 2 months after the intervention had ended (week 16).ResultsThere were 75 participants who provided consent and were randomized but 27 participants withdrew post-randomization. Children in the intervention group engaged in 2.6 fewer minutes of weekday MVPA at Time 1 but engaged in 11 more minutes of weekend MVPA. At Time 1 the intervention parents engaged in 9 more minutes of weekday MVPA and 13 more minutes of weekend MVPA. The proportion of children in the intervention group watching ≥ 2 hours per day of TV on weekend days decreased after the intervention (time 0 = 76%, time 1 = 39%, time 2 = 50%), while the control group proportion increased slightly (79%, 86% and 87%). Parental weekday TV watching decreased in both groups. In post-study interviews many mothers reported problems associated with wearing the accelerometers. In terms of a future full-scale trial, a sample of between 80 and 340 families would be needed to detect a mean difference of 10-minutes of weekend MVPA.ConclusionsTeamplay is a promising parenting program in an under-researched area. The intervention was acceptable to parents, and all elements of the study protocol were successfully completed. Simple changes to the trial protocol could result in more complete data collection and study engagement.

Interventions with potential to reduce sedentary time in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Three studies employed an intervention specifically to reduce SB,40 44 63 16 studies aimed at increasing PA levels,30 35 36 39 41 46 48 49 55 58–60 64 66 72 78 nine studies combined both approaches of reducing SB and increasing PA levels,32 43 53 62 65 68 70 76 77 one study assessed the effect of a dietary intervention on SB,61 and 22 studies (20 reports) applied a multicomponent lifestyle intervention and observed effects on sedentary behaviour (among other outcomes) 29 33 34 37 38 42 45 47 50–52 54 56 57 67 69 71 73 74 75. Twenty studies offered an alternative intervention,30 36 39–41 45 46 49 52–55 59 61–63 68 72 77 10 studies the usual/routine care,29 37 38 42 50 51 67 71 74 75 seven studies used a waiting list control,29 34 48 64 69 76 78 five studies an attention control,35 44 56 57 60 and control participants of seven studies received no intervention at all 32 33 43 47 58 66 …”

“…Twenty-four studies suggested no evidence of a group difference in SB: 10 lifestyle interventions,29 45 50 52 56 57 67 71 73 75 seven PA interventions,35 36 49 55 58 66 72 six PA/SB interventions,53 62 65 70 76 77 and one SB intervention 44. Four studies—two lifestyle,47 69 one PA/SBs,43 one dietary intervention61—did not conclude on SB outcomes despite assessing SB.…”

“…Studies reported intervention effects on fasting blood glucose concentration,31 42 56 glycosylated haemoglobin levels,37 42 69 triglyceride levels,31 42 56 69 low-density lipoprotein levels,31 42 56 69 total cholesterol,37 42 56 69 high-density lipoprotein levels,31 39 42 56 64 69 blood pressure,32 38 43 57 59 65 70 BMI,29 33 36 37 42 55 56 57 58 59 62 64 69 74 waist circumference,31 42 55 – 59 62 64 69 74 76 percentage body fat42 55 56 58 62 64 and mental health outcomes 29 41 48 49 64 72. Some studies indicated a reduction in these secondary outcomes; however, studies were PA-only or lifestyle interventions and none of the studies were SB-only studies.…”

An intervention to improve the physical activity levels of children: Design and rationale of the ‘Active Classrooms’ cluster randomised controlled trial

“…Power calculations to determine the sample size necessary to detect changes in MVPA are based on previous studies [17,37,38]. Sample sizes are calculated to detect a mean difference of 10 min per day [17,37] of school day MVPA between intervention and control groups at the end of the intervention period. A standard deviation of 12 min [38,39] is used as this value has been reported in the literature when describing the PA patterns in primary school children.…”

Social Support May Buffer the Effect of Intrafamilial Stressors on Preschool Children's Television Viewing Time in Low-Income Families

“…Family interventions targeting child TV-viewing time typically focus on factors within the family, such as parent knowledge of screen-time recommendations and awareness of strategies to minimize children's electronic media use. [41][42][43] Although this study presents novel data on the potential role of social support in mitigating associations between intrafamilial risk factors and child TV viewing, results should be interpreted cautiously because of a number of study limitations. First, given the use of a cross-sectional design, we cannot determine the temporal ordering of child TV viewing and intrafamilial risk factors.…”