YES! We Can PLAY: A Physical Activity and Nutrition After-School Program for Middle School Students

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that youth engage in 60 minutes of MVPA per day, but most U.S. youth do not meet this goal. Already inadequate levels of physical activity drop still further as children transition from elementary school to middle school; during this transition sports participation and overall physical activity decrease. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from 2009, the most recent year for which Alabama data is available for middle-school students, only 30% or fewer of the responding youth reported adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Additional data indicates these poor health behaviors in middle school carry forward into high school. Ninth graders in Alabama report low levels of vegetable and fruit consumption, with roughly 10% of the students indicating that they had eaten no fruit or vegetables at all in the 7 days prior to the survey. In a study conducted in Birmingham, researchers found that school-based resources were the most important determinants of physical activity among youth ages 12-14. This information is particularly meaningful when placed in context with the high prevalence of sedentary behavior among Birmingham youth.

Because physical activity and sports participation decrease in the transition to middle school, interventions that provide opportunities for physical activity and sports participation for middle school students have the potential to impact the short-term and long-term health of youth. In Alabama middle schools, only 7th and 8th graders are eligible to play on Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) sports teams, leaving 6th graders who do not have access to club or recreational sports due to finances, transportation or other issues related to poverty, with few options for participating in organized sports. For students who live in neighborhoods that experience high rates of crime, informal physical activity options are rare as well. Lack of opportunities for both organized and informal physical activity may lead 6th graders to drop sports participation altogether, which could impact lifetime physical activity habits and lead to lower health status.

The school setting is a prime location for improving eating habits and increasing physical activity since schools have direct contact with the children for about eight hours a day, and out of school time programs have been shown to be a desirable environment for such intervention and can be effective in promoting higher fruit and vegetable intake, as well as increased physical activity. Currently the Birmingham City Schools District for 3rd through 5th graders. Let's Move began over 15 years ago and has evolved since. There are approximately 1300 students that participate in some of the Let's Move program components, which include 2 days per week of after-school sports programming. The program emphasizes basic skills instruction while encouraging a positive, fitness-oriented, after-school program supporting healthy lifestyles. Let's Move serves as important foundation for the organization and implementation of the proposed program as it expands the content and elevates the target audience to middle school students. Due to COVID restrictions, the YES! program will operate virtually. in out of school time. During the 2020-2021 school year the program took place virtually will after school at least 3 days per week. Once public health guidelines allowed for in person programming, participants could choose to take part in the program face-to-face at his/her school (during the school year) or at the YMCA of Birmingham's Youth Center (during the summer).