Interventions to promote physical activity among young and adolescent girls: a systematic review

Abstract

A narrative systematic review was conducted to describe the available evidence from physical activity (PA) interventions that targeted girls aged 5-18 years and to determine their effectiveness and key characteristics of success. Systematic literature searches were conducted using four databases: PubMed, Web of Science, PsychInfo and SPORTDiscus and by examining the reference lists of included articles and published relevant reviews, to identify studies published in English from 2000 to July 2010. Randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs with pre-test and post-test behavioral outcome data (objective or self-report measure) were included. Methodological quality was assessed using a checklist and conclusions were made concerning effectiveness. A total of 29 articles were reviewed, describing the evaluation of 21 interventions. Ten studies reported a favorable intervention effect upon PA outcomes, seven of which were rated as having a high methodological quality. Multi-component school-based interventions that also offer a physical education that address the unique needs of girls seemed to be the most effective. Although family support is revealed as ineffective, peer strategies showed promising evidence. The review finishes highlighting possible intervention strategies and reporting areas where further investigation is required.

A grounded theory of how social support influences physical activity in adolescent girls

“…Together these findings suggest that social support can contribute to young people having fun, positive experiences, which contributes to their sustained engagement in PA. Whilst prior research has highlighted the importance of enjoyment in PA interventions (Camacho-Miñano, LaVoi, & Barr-Anderson, 2011; Loman, 2008), findings from the current study indicate that social support and involving friends or family may be particularly important for facilitating enjoyment of physical activities amongst adolescent girls.…”

The Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls: A Meta-analysis

“…Interventions conducted with adolescents generally showed no or inconclusive effectiveness; only two categories ('school plus community plus family' and 'multicomponent') showed 'strong' evidence for effectiveness. However, only eight of the included studies were exclusively on girls.Moreover, in studies that included both boys and girls, results for girls were not reported separately.Camacho-Miano et al 7 reported effects for young and adolescent girls, but only included those studies that focused on girls alone, thus making no distinction between those interventions focusing on girls alone and those that mixed boys and girls. While we know that physical activity levels of boys and girls differ, we do not yet know whether targeting girls 4 alone is more effective than mixed interventions.…”

“…Camacho-Miano et al 7 reported effects for young and adolescent girls, but only included those studies that focused on girls alone, thus making no distinction between those interventions focusing on girls alone and those that mixed boys and girls. While we know that physical activity levels of boys and girls differ, we do not yet know whether targeting girls 4 alone is more effective than mixed interventions.…”

The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity among young girls: A meta-analysis

“…Science Direct, PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Libraries, and EPPI Centre databases were searched using the key terms. In addition, manual searches of personal files were conducted along with screening of reference lists of previous physical activity reviews (Brown, 2009;Camacho-Minano, LaVoi, & Barr-Anderson, 2011;De Bourdeaudhuij et al, 2011;De Meester, van Lenthe, Spittaels, Lien, & De Bourdeaudhuij, 2009;DeMattia, Lemont, & Meurer, 2007;Foley & Maddison, 2010;Hamel, Robbins, & Wilbur, 2011;Jago & Baranowski, 2004;Lubans, Morgan, & Tudor-Locke, 2009;Ogilvie et al, 2007;Pate & O'Neill, 2009;Salmon, Booth, Phongsavan, Murphy, & Timperio, 2007;Timperio, Salmon, & Ball, 2004;van Sluijs, et al, 2007;Ward, Vaughn, McWilliams, & Hales, 2010) and identified articles for titles that included the key terms.…”