Influences of a community-based intervention to promote physical activity among youth ages 9-13

Background: The influences of physical activity on youth include physiological and mental health benefits in addition to improved academic performance. Multi-component interventions such as community-wide campaigns are recommended to promote physical activity. VERB^TM Summer Scorecard (VSS) is a community-based extension of the national media campaign, VERB^TM – It's what you do, offering tweens (9-13 years) opportunities to be active in their community during the summer months by leveraging local resources, including commercial vendors, to expand action outlets for youth. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the VSS program on physical activity and trying new activities and sports among tweens exposed to this intervention. Methods: We conducted a post-test only pilot study of 1,253 elementary and middle school students in Sarasota County, Florida. Using a 44-item anonymous questionnaire, data were gathered to assess frequency of vigorous physical activity, days of physical activity per week, frequency of weekend physical activity, and trying a new game or sport. Results: There were statistically significant differences between participants and non-participants regarding days of vigorous physical activity (p=0.010) and the number of physical activity events performed on weekends (p=0.018). Tweens who participated in the program were 2.64 times more likely than non-participants to report 3 or more days of vigorous physical activity and 4.05 times more likely to report physical activity on weekends. Conclusion: These findings support increasing out-of-school opportunities to link tweens with physical activity venues by leveraging resources that increase access to action outlets, thereby reinforcing existing school-based initiatives.