Rationale and design of active play @ home: a parent-led physical activity program for children with and without disability

Abstract

BackgroundCompared to other children, those with disability have additional challenges to being physically active. Prader-Willi Syndrome is a genetic form of childhood obesity that is characterized by hypotonia, growth hormone deficiency, behavioral, and cognitive disability. In children, the low prevalence of this syndrome (1 in 10,000 to 15,000 live births) makes group-based physical activity interventions difficult. In contrast, the home environment presents a natural venue to establish a physical activity routine for this population. This manuscript describes the design of a parent-led physical activity intervention incorporating playground and interactive console-based games to increase physical activity participation in youth with and without Prader-Willi Syndrome.Methods/DesignThe study participants will be 115 youth ages 8-15 y (45 with the syndrome and 70 without the syndrome but categorized as obese). The study will use a parallel design with the control group receiving the intervention after serving as control. Participants will be expected to complete a physical activity curriculum 4 days a week for 6 months including playground games 2 days a week and interactive console games 2 days a week. Parents will be trained at baseline and then provided with a curriculum and equipment to guide their implementation of the program. Tips related to scheduling and coping with barriers to daily program implementation will be provided. Throughout, parents will be contacted by phone once a week (weeks 1-4) and then every other week to receive support in between visits. Measurements of children and parents will be obtained at baseline, 12 weeks, and at the end (week 24) of the intervention. Children main outcomes include physical activity (accelerometry), body composition (dual x-ray absorptiometry), motor proficiency (Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency), quality of life and physical activity self-efficacy (questionnaires). Intervention compliance will be monitored using mail-in daily self-report checklists.DiscussionThis parent-guided physical activity intervention aims to increase physical activity by using a curriculum that builds physical activity related self-confidence through the development and/or enhancement of motor skill competency. Ultimately, helping children develop these skills as well as joy in being physically active will translate into sustained behavior change.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trial: NCT02058342

A Characterization of Movement Skills in Obese Children With and Without Prader-Willi Syndrome

“…The first limitation is that data were obtained from children enrolled to begin a physical activity intervention (D. A. Rubin, Wilson, Wiersma, Weiss, & Rose, 2014); thus, they might have been more motivated to perform. Additionally, although both OB-PWS and OB had levels of physical activity comparable to national norms, they may have been less active than their peers.…”

Accelerometry-Derived Physical Activity Correlations Between Parents and Their Fourth-Grade Child Are Specific to Time of Day and Activity Level

“…[6][7][8][9][10] Several interventions designed to increase MVPA at the family level have targeted either parents or children as agents of change. [11][12][13] However, this approach assumes that changing PA levels in one group will precipitate PA changes in the other group. Thus, for such interventions to be successful, a significant positive correlation between parent and child PA must exist.…”

Association between physical activity and bone in children with Prader-Willi syndrome

“…The data used for the present study were baseline data collected as part of an ongoing 24-week home-based PA intervention study [26]. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at California State University, Fullerton and the Human Research Protection Office at the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.…”