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The Medical College of Georgia FitKid Project: the relations between program attendance and changes in outcomes in year 1
Year Published: 2005
This evaluation studied third graders, a majority of whom were children of color, at 18 schools in Georgia participating in the Medical College of Georgia FitKid Project, an afterschool program that used a fitness curriculum developed by the Medical College of Georgia to reduce childhood obesity. Researchers concluded that children who attended 40 percent or more of the afterschool sessions showed improvement in body fat percentage, bone mass density, and cardiovascular fitness. Students with higher levels of program attendance saw even greater health gains, where students’ cardiovascular fitness and bone mass density increased and body fat decreased as program attendance increased.
Scope of the Evaluation: Statewide
Program Type: Afterschool
Community Type: Rural, Urban, Suburban
Grade level: Elementary School
Program Demographics: Fifty-four percent of participants were girls, 64 percent were African American, 27 were White, and 9 percent identified as “other.”
Evaluator: Yin, Z., Moore, J. B., Johnson, M. H., Barbeau, P., Cavnar, M., Thornburg, J., & Gutin, B.
Evaluation Methods: Eighteen Georgia schools were selected and randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions, where nine of the schools provided a free afterschool program to all students and nine did not. Results of the study include findings of the 278 students on whom pre and posttest data were collected. The afterschool program did not charge for services, was offered two hours per day, five days per week through the regular school year, and each session included a healthy snack, academic assistance, and an 80 minute physical activity. A variety of physical fitness measures were collected from both groups of students, including body composition, percent body fat, bone mineral density, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference.
Evaluation Type: Experimental
Summary of Outcomes: Researchers concluded that children who attended 40 percent or more of the Medical College of Georgia FitKid Project afterschool sessions showed improvement in body fat percentage, bone mass density, and cardiovascular fitness compared to students in schools that did not offer the afterschool programming.
The study also found that students with higher levels of program attendance saw even greater health gains, where students’ cardiovascular fitness and bone mass density increased and body fat decreased as program attendance increased. However, no significant changes in students’ body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference were observed as program attendance increased.
Associated Evaluation: http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v29/n2s/pdf/0803061a.pdf
Date Added: November 18, 2016
