CHANGE! (Children’s Health, Activity and Nutrition: Get Educated!)

Project Overview

Children having baseline measurements taken

The focus of the CHANGE! (Children’s Health, Activity and Nutrition: Get Educated!) Project was on promoting health and well-being among Year 6 children through enhancement of physical activity, psychological well-being, nutritional behaviours, and reductions in chronic disease risk factors. The project was based around a physical activity and nutrition education curriculum resource aimed at children and their families.

Research Aims and Objectives

CHANGE! aimed to promote physical activity and healthy eating through a curriculum-based intervention. Objectives were to:

Increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviours

Increase consumption of healthy foods and improve food knowledge

Promote healthy body size

Research Methods and Approaches

The first year of the project included piloting of methods and focus group interviews with Year 5 children, families, key professionals, etc. The purpose of these formative qualitative enquiries was to help tailor aspects of the intervention to the needs of the children and their families. The data revealed that children had sound knowledge of physical activity and healthy eating but that they recognised certain barriers to implementing these positive behaviours.

An intervention package was developed based around the previously successful ‘Planet Health’ model that has been used in the USA. The intervention aimed to increase children’s physical activity and healthy eating and reduce their sedentary behaviours. The intervention took the form of a 300 page curriculum resource pack for teachers. The resource was adapted from the original Planet Health version by Anglicising some of the language, and making the lessons more relevant to children and their local context. Homework tasks were included to engage parents, carers, and siblings. During the autumn of 2010 Year 6 children from 12 schools completed baseline measurements of physical activity, eating preferences, fitness, and risk factors for cardiometabolic conditions. Following training of the teachers in the intervention schools, the teachers implemented the 20 week programme with their Year 6 classes through their PSHE curriculum lessons. The intervention was implemented in 6 schools, with 6 serving as controls for comparison purposes.

The intervention was effective in increasing vigorous intensity physical activity and reducing waist circumference and body mass index SDS scores. Moreover, the effects on body size were strongest among Intervention group girls, and children who were classified as overweight and obese, who spent most time engaged in sedentary behaviours, and who were least affluent. Thus, the intervention was most effective among children at greatest risk of poor health.

Funding

The project was funded by Liverpool John Moores University with in-kind support provided by Wigan Council.

Partners

Wigan Council

Project Report

The CHANGE! Project Research Findings Summary Report can be found here

Publications

Mackintosh, K.A., Fairclough, S.J., Stratton, G., and Ridgers, N.D. (2012) A calibration protocol for population-specific accelerometer cut-points in children. PLoS One 7(5): e36919. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036919. Impact factor: 4.411; ISSN: 1932-6203. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22590635

Mackintosh, K.A., Knowles, Z.K., Ridgers, N.D., and Fairclough, S.J. (2011) Using formative research to develop physical activity. CHANGE!: A curriculum-based health-education intervention. BMC Public Health, 11: 831. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22032540

Conference Presentations

Fairclough, S.J., Mackintosh, K.A., Gobbi, R., Warburton, G., Ridgers, N.D., Boddy, L.M., Davies, I., Hackett, A.F., and Stratton, G. (2011) Differences in physical self-perceptions in 10-11 year children who do and do not achieve physical activity guidelines: The CHANGE! Project. Pediatric Work Physiology Conference, Mawgan Porth, 19-23 September 2011.

Mackintosh, K.A., Fairclough, S.J., Eccles, K., Stratton, G., and Ridgers, N.D. (2011) Field-based protocol for the calibration of population-specific accelerometer cut points in children. Pediatric Work Physiology Conference, Mawgan Porth, 19-23 September 2011.

Fairclough, S.J., Mackintosh, K.A., Gobbi, R., Warburton, G., Ridgers, N.D., Boddy, L.M., Davies, I., Hackett, A.F., and Stratton, G. (2011) Influence of physical activity intensity and physical self-perceptions on weight status among 10-11 year children: The CHANGE! Project. 16th Annual Conference of the European College of Sports Sciences, Liverpool, 6-10 July 2011.

Mackintosh, K.A., Ridgers, N.D., Boddy, L.M., Hackett, A.F., Davies, I., Warburton, G., Gobbi, R., and Fairclough, S.J. (2011) A cluster-analytic classification of children’s physical activity. 16th Annual Conference of the European College of Sports Sciences, Liverpool, 6-10 July 2011.

Gobbi, R., Davies, I.G., Fairclough, S.J., Hackett, A.F., Mackintosh, K.A., Warburton, G.L., Stratton, G., George, K.P., and Boddy, L.M. (2011) Clustered cardiometabolic risk, cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity in 10-11 year old children. The CHANGE! Project. 16th Annual Conference of the European College of Sports Sciences, Liverpool, 6-10 July 2011.

Gobbi, R., Davies, I.G., Fairclough, S.J., Hackett, A.F., Mackintosh, K.A., Warburton, G.L., Stratton, G., George, K.P., and Boddy, L.M. (2011) The CHANGE! Project: group and gender differences in body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cardiometabolic variables at baseline. 16th Annual Conference of the European College of Sports Sciences, Liverpool, 6-10 July 2011.

Mackintosh, K.A., Eccles, K., Fairclough, S.J., and Ridgers, N.D. (2011) Predicting children’s free-living energy expenditure. International Conference on Ambulatory Monitoring of Physical Activity and Movement, Glasgow Caledonian University, 23-27 May 2011.

Mackintosh, K.A., Ridgers, N.D., Stratton, G., and Fairclough, S.J. (2010) The development of CHANGE! (Children’s Health, Activity and Nutrition: Get Educated!). European Youth Heart Study 6th Scientific Symposium, University of Bath, 13-14 September 2010.