Carmen Babcock, Health and Exercise Science, College of Education and Human Ecology Gail Kaye, Human Nutrition and OSU Extension Donna Pastore, School of Physical Activity and Educational Services Department Chair, College of Education and Human Ecology Jill Nolan, Assistant Director, Family & Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension Sandy Stroot, Interim Dean, College of Education and Human Ecology
The BodyFit initiative is geared towards the promotion of physical activity in school-aged children. While children are typically engaged in activity through “play”, they have become increasingly susceptible to engagement in sedentary-based activity (i.e. video games, television or computer time). As well, many of today’s children often face reduced time at play during school, including less recesses and physical education classes. As such, we set about to develop a curriculum for school-aged children that would enhance physical activity behaviors. A needs assessment was performed to determine key topics that require attention in the effort to promote physical activity in the target population. Identified areas include: gender/biological influence; perceived barriers to physical activity; self-efficacy; social support & family/interpersonal influences; enjoyment; and technology. Six lesson plans specific to the topic areas were developed. These lesson plans also incorporate aspects of the social cognitive theory (e.g. coping skills, and goal setting) to promote behavior change. As such, we have completed the first of a two-step process in our goal of the formative evaluation. The second step will include production and implementation components, and will be completed in future works when we take BodyFit lesson plans into the schools and test its effectiveness in the promotion of physical activity in school children.
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