Prescription of Exercise in Children

Effectiveness of Medical Prescription of Exercise in Children to Increase Physical Activity Levels.

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity; Exercise; Children; Screen Time
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Medical prescription of exercise; Behavioral: Health Advice

Detailed 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.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 130
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Granada, Spain, 18014
    • Avenida de las Fuerzas Armadas, 2, 18014, Granada

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Medical prescription of exercise (MPE); 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.	Behavioral: Medical prescription of exercise; 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
Active Comparator: Health Advice (HA); 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	Behavioral: Health Advice; HA consists of 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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Efectiveness of MPE and HA	test whether brief HA and/or individualized MPE in PC increases physical activity levels in childhood.	from enrollment to 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 23, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 2, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 2, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; exercise; children; Screen time
• Other Study ID Numbers: Zaidin exercises

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Permission to reproduce material from other sources: Specific permissions and related documentation are available upon request
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No