Impact evaluation of the “Planning to be Active” middle school intervention

The development of effective physical activity interventions for schools is needed to curtail the rising rates of inactivity among youth. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the “Planning to be Active” intervention on targeted psychosocial constructs and rates of leisure-time physical activity among students. METHODS: A pretest / post-test, quasi experimental design was used. Physical education teachers at a Midwestern middle school were trained to deliver a 9-week, 9-lesson physical activity unit integrated into the curriculum. A school matched by teacher education and student SES was recruited to provide comparison data. Students (n = 103 intervention, n = 114 comparison) completed previously validated instruments assessing: self-efficacy, self-regulation, social support, outcome expectations, and five previous day activity instruments. RESULTS: 2X2 mixed model ANOVA analysis revealed significant group by time interactions for self-efficacy to overcome barriers to physical activity (p<0.05), social support for physical activity (p<0.01), and self-regulation of physical activity (p<0.01). Students self-reported µ=3, 30-minute bouts of moderate and µ=4, 30-minute bouts of vigorous physical activity in the previous 5 days at pretest. The intervention did not produce increases in bouts of moderate or vigorous leisure-time physical activity.CONCLUSIONS: The intervention was effective at teaching students skills conducive to improving self-efficacy for overcoming barriers, social support, and self-regulation of physical activity. Increased scores on the psychosocial constructs did not translate into improvements in rates of physical activity, although the ability to see improvements in rates of physical activity may have been impacted by potential ceiling effects.