A participatory parent-focused intervention promoting physical activity in preschools: design of a cluster-randomized trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

With rates of childhood obesity increasing, physical activity (PA) promotion especially in young children has assumed greater importance. Given the limited effectiveness of most interventions to date, new approaches are needed. The General Systems theory suggests that involving parents as intervention targets may be effective in fostering healthier life styles in children. We describe the development of a parent-focused participatory intervention and the procedures used to evaluate its effectiveness in increasing daily PA in preschoolers.

Methods/design

Thirty-seven South German preschools were identified for this study and agreed to participate. Using a two-armed, controlled cluster-randomized trial design we test a participatory intervention with parents as the

SUBMITTER: De Bock F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2835684 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature