The FitSpirit approach for increasing physical activity in canadian teenage girls: protocol of a longitudinal, quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background Worldwide, most adolescent girls do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations and very few PA programs are tailored specifically towards them. Even fewer information exists about the long-term effects of such programs. Some Canadian schools have implemented the FitSpirit PA intervention designed specifically for girls aged 12 to 17 years old. This paper describes the protocol of a quasi-experimental study evaluating long-term changes in health behaviours and outcomes following FitSpirit participation. Methods The study is conducted among schools that partner with FitSpirit every year. It started in 2018 and will be completed in 2022. The intervention comprises motivational talks, a turnkey running program, PA sessions and special events. Study participants fill out an online questionnaire twice a year. Follow-up questionnaires are sent at the end of each school year to the study participants who dropout from FitSpirit. The main outcome, changes in PA levels, is evaluated using questions validated for adolescents. Secondary outcomes are health (perceived health); lifestyle habits (sedentary activities, eating and sleeping habits); psychosocial outcomes (physical self-efficacy and body satisfaction); and FitSpirit appreciation (activity participation and satisfaction). Most questions originate from questionnaires validated for the adolescent population. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses will be performed. Discussion This study will provide one of the first longitudinal reports on the impact of a large extra-curricular PA intervention designed specifically for adolescent girls. The current study will uniquely contribute to PA research by assessing outcomes additional to PA levels, including markers of health, lifestyle habits and psychosocial determinants. Trial registration NCT, NCT03804151, Registered on January 22, 2019; retrospectively registered.

eLoriCorps Immersive Body Rating Scale and eLoriCorps Mobile Versions: Validation to Assess Body Image Disturbances from Allocentric and Egocentric Perspectives in a Nonclinical Sample of Adolescents

“…Participants were recruited from 285 schools in Quebec. Students aged 14 and older were informed about the study directly in their classes, by the teacher, or during FitSpirit physical activity (visit the website for further information; Leduc et al [ 67 ]). They were free to participate or not and were required to speak with the project contact representative of their school or FitSpirit-referent-person if they expressed interest in participating.…”

Body image and health-related behaviors among fitspirit participants

“…Since 2007, FitSpirit has helped schools organize activities and events for adolescent girls and engages approximately 12 000 participants yearly [ 27 ]. FitSpirit aims to raise adolescent girls’ motivation and enjoyment of regular PA by offering them different opportunities to be physically active and thus, promote the adoption of an active lifestyle in the short and long-term [ 25 ]. The program offers 4 types of activities to the participants, and each school decides which combination of them they put forward every year: (1) motivational conferences given by inspiring women, (2) weekly physical activity sessions, (3) a running program, and (4) a celebration day at the end of the school year to explore new activities in a non-competitive environment.…”

“…Approximately 250 high schools partner with FitSpirit across two Canadian provinces (Québec and Ontario) every year. The detailed design of this program is described by Leduc et al [ 25 ].…”

“…In the Spring of 2018 and 2019, FitSpirit participants from each school engage in the FitSpirit program were invited to participate in the evaluation program [ 25 ]. Recruitment was done through the FitSpirit leader who directly invited the girls involved in the FitSpirit program to participate in the program evaluation.…”

“…Over the past 20 years, many health-promotion initiatives have been implemented to encourage young girls to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle [ 22 , 24 ]. Through these various interventions, evidence suggests that "girls-only" school-based interventions, such as FitSpirit [ 25 ], may be successful approaches to increase PA [ 21 , 26 ]. However, there are a lack of studies examining the association between body image variables, such as BSP and BSD, and health behaviors in adolescents participating in a "girls-only" school-based intervention.…”