Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2008 Jan;29(1):21-31.
doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2007.07.001. Epub 2007 Jul 17.

An overview of "The Active by Choice Today" (ACT) trial for increasing physical activity

Dawn K Wilson  1 , Heather Kitzman-Ulrich, Joel E Williams, Ruth Saunders, Sarah Griffin, Russell Pate, M Lee Van Horn, Alexandra Evans, Brent Hutto, Cheryl L Addy, Gary Mixon, Susan B Sisson
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

An overview of "The Active by Choice Today" (ACT) trial for increasing physical activity

Dawn K Wilson et al. Contemp Clin Trials. 2008 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Although school-based behavioral interventions for increasing physical activity (PA) in children and adolescents have been conducted, little evidence suggests that these curriculum-based approaches lead to increases in overall activity outside of program days. The overall goal of the "Active by Choice Today" (ACT) trial is to expand the body of knowledge concerning the factors that influence long-term increases in PA in underserved adolescents (low socioeconomic status, minorities) during their middle school years.

Design and setting: An overview of the ACT study design, theoretical framework, process evaluation, and primary hypotheses is presented. The trial involves twenty-four middle schools (1560 6th graders) in South Carolina that are randomly assigned to one of two after-school programs (motivational and life skills intervention, or general health education).

Intervention: The intervention integrates constructs from Self-Determination and Social Cognitive Theories to enhance intrinsic motivation and behavioral skills for PA. The intervention targets skill development for PA outside of program days and the after-school program social environment (autonomy, choice, participation, belongingness, fun, enjoyment, support) is designed to positively impact cognitive mediators (self-efficacy, perceived competence), and motivational orientation (intrinsic motivation, commitment, positive self-concept). MAIN HYPOTHESES/OUTCOMES: It is hypothesized that the 17-week motivational and life skills intervention will lead to greater increases in moderate-to-vigorous PA (based on 7-day accelerometry estimates) at post-intervention as compared to the general health education program.

Conclusions: Implications of this innovative school-based trial are discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A) Project ACT study design. (B) ACT logic model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wilson DK, Kitzman-Ulrich H. Cultural considerations in the development of pediatric weight management programs. In: Jelalian E, editor. Handbook of childhood obesity. American Psychological Association; Washington, DC: in press.
    1. Sallis JF, Zakarian JM, Hovell MF, et al. Ethnic, socioeconomic, and sex differences in physical activity among adolescents. J Clin Epidemiol. 1996;49:125–34. - PubMed
    1. Bungum TJ, Vincent ML. The parental modeling questionnaire. Am J Prev Med. 1997;13:115–22. - PubMed
    1. Baranowski T, Anderson C, Carmack C. Mediating variable framework in physical activity interventions. How are we doing? How might we do better? Am J Prev Med. 1998;15:266–97. - PubMed
    1. Gortmaker SL, et al. Reducing obesity via a school-based interdisciplinary intervention among youth: planet health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:409–18. - PubMed

Publication types