Promoting motor skills in low-income, ethnic children: The Physical Activity in Linguistically Diverse Communities (PALDC) nonrandomized trial.

Objectives: This study reports the long-term effects of a professional learning program for classroom teachers on fundamental motor skill (FMS) proficiency of primary school students from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Design: A cluster non-randomized trial using a nested cross-sectional design.

Methods: The study was conducted in 8 primary schools located in disadvantaged and culturally diverse areas in Sydney, Australia.

Understanding the day-to-day lives of obese children and their families.

This study investigated the daily lives of obese children and their families to better understand factors influencing weight-related behaviors. A multiple case study design was implemented with 6 obese children and their families. Participant observations occurred in different settings from when the children woke until they went to bed, yielding approximately 95 hours of data per family.

A school-based intervention to promote physical activity among adolescent girls: rationale, design, and baseline data from the Girls in Sport group randomised controlled trial.

Background: Physical activity levels decline markedly among girls during adolescence. School-based interventions that are multi-component in nature, simultaneously targeting curricular, school environment and policy, and community links, are a promising approach for promoting physical activity. This report describes the rationale, design and baseline data from the Girls in Sport group randomised trial, which aims to prevent the decline in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) among adolescent girls.

Barriers to increasing physical activity and limiting small screen recreation among obese children.

Objective: To investigate the barriers to increasing physical activity and limiting small screen recreation time among obese children.

Design: Qualitative study using a case study design incorporating focus groups and interviews with parents and pair interviews with children.

Participants: Nine obese children (age range 5-12 years) and their parents.