Effectiveness of a Family Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Disadvantaged Areas—A Healthy Generation, a Controlled Pilot Study
by
Gisela Nyberg 1,2,*
, Susanne Andermo 1,3, Anja Nordenfelt 4, Matthias Lidin 5,6 and Mai-Lis Hellénius 5
Gisela Nyberg 1,2,*, Susanne Andermo 1,3, Anja Nordenfelt 4, Matthias Lidin 5,6 and Mai-Lis Hellénius 5
1
Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
2
The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), 114 86 Stockholm, Sweden
3
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 141 83 Huddinge, Sweden
4
The Foundation A Healthy Generation, 118 63 Stockholm, Sweden
5
Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
6
Theme Heart and Vessel, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(11), 3794; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113794
Received: 30 April 2020 / Revised: 17 May 2020 / Accepted: 24 May 2020 / Published: 27 May 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Children's Health)
There are large social inequalities in health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a family intervention on physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) in children and their parents. In this controlled pilot study, all 8–9-year-old children from four schools from a socioeconomically disadvantaged area in Sweden were invited and 67 children and 94 parents were included. The intervention was run by a foundation in co-operation with the municipality. The 9-month program included: (1) activity sessions, (2) healthy meals, (3) health information and (4) parental support groups. PA was primary outcome and ST was secondary outcome, measured by accelerometry. In total, 40 of the children (60%) and 45 of the adults (50%) had at least one day of valid accelerometer data at both baseline and follow-up. Significant intervention effects for the whole group were found in total PA (p = 0.048, mean difference (MD) intervention/control 150 counts per minute) and in vigorous PA (p = 0.02, MD 8 min/day) during the weekends. There were no differences between groups in the other PA variables or ST. This pilot study shows that it is possible to influence PA in families from a disadvantaged area through a family program.
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Keywords:
mothers; fathers; school; organized physical activity; healthy meals; health information; parental support groups; accelerometers
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MDPI and ACS Style
Nyberg, G.; Andermo, S.; Nordenfelt, A.; Lidin, M.; Hellénius, M.-L. Effectiveness of a Family Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Disadvantaged Areas—A Healthy Generation, a Controlled Pilot Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 3794.
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