Cognitive‐behavioural physical activity treatment in A frican‐ A merican pre‐schoolers: Effects of age, sex, and BMI

Aim Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children of 5 years and younger has greatly increased in countries including A ustralia, C anada, the UK and the USA , with African‐Americans most affected in the USA . Low amounts of physical activity may be a primary cause. Interventions intended to increase physical activity during pre‐school have had minimal effects. Methods A physical activity intervention derived from self‐efficacy and social cognitive theory administered by pre‐school teachers in the USA ( S tart F or L ife) was contrasted with typical care over 8 weeks. The 30‐min‐per‐day treatment incorporated structured gross motor skill physical activities and training in self‐management and self‐regulation skills. The A frican‐ A merican children in the treatment ( n  = 154, 21 classrooms) and control ( n  = 121, 11 classrooms) groups ranged in age from 3.5 to 5.6 years. Results Mixed‐model repeated measures analysis of variances indicated significantly ( P  ≤ 0.05) greater increases in moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) and vigorous physical activity ( VPA ) in the treatment group when both the children and classrooms were the unit of analysis. Time in sedentary activities was not affected. Together, age, sex and body mass index ( BMI ) percentile significantly predicted treatment‐related changes in MVPA ( R 2  = 0.11) and VPA ( R 2  = 0.11), with age (β = −0.22 and β = −0.23, respectively) and BMI percentile (β = −0.24 and β = −0.23, respectively) contributing uniquely to the explained variances indicating greater treatment effects for participants who were younger and had a lower BMI percentile. Conclusions The Start For Life treatment was associated with increased MVPA by approximately 1 h per week, with most of that change being in VPA . After sufficient replication, adjustments may be made to maximise treatment effects.