Innovative Approaches to Increasing Physical Activity Among Youths in Rural Maine

Introduction: Most research on strategies to increase youth physical activity levels has been conducted in urban settings; there is less evidence for successful strategies in rural communities, especially as it pertains to reducing environmental and socioeconomic barriers to healthy lifestyles.    As part of a 2-year CTG-Small Communities grant, the Downeast Maine CTG Collaborative utilized innovative approaches to increasing youth physical activity, primarily designed by participating schools. This includes: improvements to school recreational amenities (e.g. instituting walking paths on school grounds); introducing programs (e.g. Safe Routes to School); and improving school policies around physical education.  This study examined the impacts these efforts had on increasing physical activity of students residing in several rural communities. 

Methods: Four schools (Grades 5-12) were recruited to participate in the evaluation.  Physical activity-related questions from the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) were administered in school to students. Baseline information was obtained for each participating school from the 2011 and/or 2013 MIYHS results and compared with the 2014 survey results.   A total of 616 surveys were analyzed; t-tests were used to determine significance. 

Results: The proportion of students who reported exercising for at least 60 minutes per day, at least 5 days a week, increased at three schools in comparison to baseline, with one school reporting a statistically significant increase (α=0.05).

Conclusion/Discussion: There is evidence that the comprehensive efforts to affect physical activity levels of students were successful.  This project provides evidence that community-based, locally-designed physical activity initiatives can impact student behavior in rural areas.