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NutriActive

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

NutriActive is a 4-week intervention delivered to kindergartners and first graders on a daily basis. It consists of a 15-minute morning walk and a 90-minute after school session which includes classroom learning and physical activities.

In classroom sessions, students learn about body awareness, play safety and injury prevention, and nutrition. In physical activity sessions, students participate in fitness enhancing activities that help develop their motor skills. Students jump rope, learn to kick for accuracy, throw for distance and participate in exercises designed to enhance strength and build cardiovascular fitness.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this intervention is to improve motor skills and fitness in young children. Fitness and motor skills development early in life can lay the foundation for successful lifelong physical activity participation.

Impact

A short-duration lifestyle intervention can have a lasting effect on children's fitness and motor skills development.

Results / Accomplishments

Students receiving the intervention were compared to students in control schools. Significant, sustainable changes on student's motor skills and fitness levels were observed following this short, intense fitness program.The intervention group scored significantly better than the control group on push-up, long jump, and all motor skills tests after completing the 4-week intervention (p<.05). After 4 months, students in the intervention group continued to score better than the control group on pull ups (p=.001), shuttle run, jump rope, and throwing (p<.001).

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
University of Northern Iowa
Primary Contact
Oksana Matvienko
University of Northern Iowa
203 Wellness & Recreation Center
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0241
(319) 273-3613
oksana.matvienko@uni.edu
http://www.uni.edu/coe/departments/school-health-p...
Topics
Health / Children's Health
Health / Physical Activity
Organization(s)
University of Northern Iowa
Source
American Journal of Health Promotion
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
Iowa
For more details
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20465142
Target Audience
Children

Related Promising Practices

  1. Activity Bursts in the Classroom (ABC) Fitness Program
  2. Kids N Fitness: A Family-Centered Lifestyle Intervention for Overweight Youth
  3. Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK)
  4. Support Healthy Active Kids in Education (SHAKE)

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Related Content for: NutriActive

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.