Prescription of Exercise in Children

University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves

Status: Completed

Conditions: Screen Time; Physical Activity; Children; Exercise

Treatments: Behavioral: Health Advice; Behavioral: Medical prescription of exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06765460

Zaidin exercises

Details and patient eligibility

About

Most pediatric populations do not meet the physical activity (PA) recommendations set by international organizations. The effectiveness of casual PA advice provided during medical consultations has not been adequately assessed for its role in fostering this healthy habit. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of medical prescriptions for PA in increasing PA levels in children compared to standard health advice (HA), as well as measuring the effectiveness of these recommendations in reducing daily screen time (ST) in the pediatric population. A randomized controlled clinical trial with parallel groups was conducted, including 130 participants aged 6 to 14 years. Data on PA levels (duration and intensity), ST, and anthropometric measures were collected via questionnaire. Participants were divided into two groups: HA (3 minutes) and medical prescription of exercise [MPE] (10 minutes). PA levels were assessed at 3 and 12 months, with results recorded using the same questionnaire. A multivariate data analysis was performed. Further research is needed to develop effective and sustainable public health interventions to prevent long-term sedentary behavior in children.

Full description

• Both HA and MPE interventions could effectively increase children's PA duration and intensity, resulting in a higher PA classification range.
• An inverse relationship may be identified between ST and PA, suggesting that reducing ST could encourage healthier habits in children.
• Pediatricians play a pivotal role in promoting lifestyle changes through brief yet targeted interventions, significantly influencing children's PA levels and reducing ST. These findings highlight the need for further research to optimize public health initiatives within pediatric care.

Enrollment: 130 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 6 to 14 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

We included pediatric patients between 6 and 14 years of age who were part of two pediatric PC groups of an urban health centre in Granada (Spain) who attended a face-to-face consultation of any type.

Exclusion criteria

chronic or complex pathology preventing moderate or intense physical activity or those who did not give consent

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

---

130 participants in 2 patient groups

Medical prescription of exercise (MPE)

Experimental group

Description:

MPE consists of dedicating a specific time to establish a specific and individualized exercise plan for the patient, with the premises of fully assessing their physical fitness, motivation, adaptability to change and the possibility of exercising within their social environment, as well as the achievement of specific objectives within an agreed follow-up period.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Medical prescription of exercise

Health Advice (HA)

Active Comparator group

Description:

providing the patient with information and motivation in line with general international recommendations to try to increase PA levels in their daily life. This advice can be given in a short period of time (up to three minutes) during any medical consultation

Treatment:

Behavioral: Health Advice