Development, feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle programme delivered in churches in urban and rural South Africa.

Rising levels of obesity in South Africa require innovation in community-level lifestyle change programmes. Our aim was to co-develop Impilo neZenkolo ('Health through Faith'), a healthy lifestyle programme for low-income, black South Africans delivered through churches, and evaluate its feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness. In the first phase we developed programme materials with church members.

Development and feasibility of a wearable infant wrist band for the objective measurement of physical activity using accelerometery.

Background: It is important to be able to reliably and feasibly measure infant and toddler physical activity in order to determine adherence to current physical activity guidelines and effects on early life development, growth and health. This study aimed to describe the development of an infant wearable wrist-worn band for the measurement of physical activity; to determine the feasibility of the device data for observational measurement of physical activity and to determine the caregiver reported acceptability of the infant wearable wrist band.

Methods: After various iterations of prototypes and piloting thereof, a final wearable band was designed to fit an Axivity AX3 monitor.