Positive Impact on Physical Activity and Health Behaviour Changes of a 15-Week Family Focused Intervention Program: “Juniors for Seniors”

Abstract

The promotion of physical activity (PA) in children and their parents requires effective planning and sometimes even interventions. This study shows the effect of PA during a 15-week intervention program “Junior for Seniors” by applying a socioecological model to the interpretation of the data. This comprehensive approach emphasizes the fact that health promotion should focus not only on intrapersonal factors but also on the multilevel factors that might be determinants and modulators of increased PA. In 2015, 24 children (“juniors,” 14 girls and 10 boys, aged M = 7.96 ± 0.69) and 22 parents (“seniors,” 14 mothers aged M = 38.86 ± 2.96 and 8 fathers aged M = 37.38 ± 2.97) were voluntarily enrolled in a study spread across three primary schools in the city of Poznań, Poland. The effectiveness of the intervention was determined according to postintervention behavioural changes in PA in comparison to preintervention levels, as reported by the parents and children. Overall, the study found increases in PA levels and reductions in sedentary time. Although the changes are modest, there are some unrecognized benefits of the intervention which may have occurred, such as improved sport and motor skills, more frequent family social behaviours (walks, meals, and visiting relatives), or simply improved quality of “do-together” leisure time PA.

The Impact of Brain Breaks Classroom-Based Physical Activities on Attitudes toward Physical Activity in Polish School Children in Third to Fifth Grade

“…School also provides an environment where healthy habits are formed [ 21 ]. Studies suggest [ 22 , 23 ] that high-quality PE, with appropriately high-intensity profiles is linked to an increase in after-school leisure time PA. School-based interventions aiming at increasing PA bring promising results [ 24 , 25 ] when accompanied with active parental involvement [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

Assessment of selected nutrient intake by Polish preschool children compared to dietary recommendations: a meta-analysis

“…In conclusion, the outcomes suggest that: (i) nutrient intake is not compliant with recommendations for this age group; (ii) the observed abnormalities may not only negatively affect the physical development of children, but also increase the risk of diet-related diseases in mature age -numerous studies demonstrate that cardiovascular risk factors and components of the metabolic syndrome with onset in childhood persist into adult life [70,71], and obese children grow up into obese adults; (iii) the obtained results suggest that educational programmes (maybe even formal interventions) about proper diet need to be implemented for preschool children and their parents (e.g. the 15-week intervention programme "Junior for Seniors" concerning physical activity and nutrition conducted in 2015 [72]) -nutritional education at the earliest age can be a practical element of creating dietary behaviours, especially as the preschool period is a time when children have limited independent access to non-recommended foods, e.g. sweets and much depends on the behaviour of their parents or carers; (iv) no studies using standardized measurement tools have been carried out in Poland.…”

The motor and leisure time conditioning of young table tennis players' physical fitness

“…Reliability was established at ICC = 0.77 and validity = 0.40. This measure has been used earlier in population studies in Poland [37,38]. Participants…”