Fit “n” Cool Kids: Effects of Peer-Modeling and Goal Setting on Physical Activity

Abstract

Background: Decreasing the risk of overweight and obesity from an early age is imperative and efforts should focus on fostering children's physical activity (PA). Within school-based interventions, there is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of the use of character peer-modeling and goal setting to increase physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a school-based intervention on PA and enjoyment of PA in grades 3-5 elementary school age children at two urban elementary schools. Methods: Participants were 95 students of 8-10 years old; activity monitors were used to assess physical activity. Daily physical activity and enjoyment was recorded at baseline, intervention, and at a 6-school-week follow-up. Results: PA significantly increased in the intervention school averaging 5549 steps at baseline, 5889 steps during the intervention, and 6515 during follow-up (p < 0.05). Participants significantly increased their moderate to vigorous physical activity from 28.54 min at baseline to 30.06 minutes at week 4 and 36.45 during follow-up (p < 0.05). There was no change in enjoyment levels from baseline to follow-up. Conclusion: The Fit "n" Cool Kids intervention presents the potential of peer-modeling and goal setting for increasing PA at school. Continued interventions in schools may positively influence children's healthy living patterns.

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“…Our findings are similar to other studies showing that goal setting using pedometers in elementary school aged children can have a positive effect on their physical activity levels (Burns, Brusseau, & Fu, 2017;Hardman, Horne, & Lowe, 2011;Horne, Hardman, Lowe, & Rowlands, 2009;Larson et al, 2018;Wilson, Sibthorp & Brusseau, 2017). This current study did not include rewards (Hardman et al, 2011;Horne et al, 2000).…”

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“…The increases shown in this study couple with other study related to recess (Larson, Brusseau, Chase, Heinemann, & Hannon, 2014) and classroom physical activity breaks (Bershwinger & Brusseau, 2013) could have a significant impact on student health and behavior. Our findings are similar to other studies showing that goal setting using pedometers in elementary school aged children can have a positive effect on their physical activity levels (Burns, Brusseau, & Fu, 2017;Hardman, Horne, & Lowe, 2011;Horne, Hardman, Lowe, & Rowlands, 2009;Larson et al, 2018;Wilson, Sibthorp & Brusseau, 2017). This current study did not include rewards (Hardman et al, 2011;Horne et al, 2000).…”

Fit “N” Cool Kids: The Effects of Character Modeling and Goal Setting on Children’s Physical Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

“…Previous research has shown that adding 10% to step goals once a week is sufficient for increasing daily step counts. 39,40 Students who reached their goal were given a mean step increase of 10% at the end of each week; those students who struggled to meet their goal were given a mean step reduction of 10% to increase attainability and competence. Goals were provided individually from a personal note from the character models that the graduate students created each week and were distributed each Monday by the research assistants.…”

“…Goal setting has been identified as a leading psychological strategy for improving performance 37 and that goal setting can lead to behavior change due to the fact that they guide an individual’s attention and effort to obtain a specified level of proficiency. 38 More recently, studies have explored the role of characters with PA goals or targets both with 39 and without rewards 40 both showing successes in increasing PA.…”