Development and reliability of a scale of physical activity-related informal social control for parents of Chinese pre-schoolers

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Initial Validation of the MAKE Framework: A Comprehensive Instrument for Evaluating the Efficacy of Game-Based Learning and Gamification in Adolescent Sexual Health Literacy

Objectives: When evaluating the effectiveness of a method for instructing adolescents in sexual health literacy, it is essential to consider how the method motivates learning, promotes a change of attitude, increases knowledge gain, and engages students (MAKE). This article reports on the development and validation of a unified, comprehensive framework for evaluating the efficacy of games in teaching sexual health behaviors for curbing unhealthy sexual outcomes to secondary school adolescents in low resource settings. Methods: The initial validation of the MAKE framework was administered to 120 students using quantitative data collection and analysis. It was then subjected to factor analysis tests to investigate the items’ structure, and Cronbach’s alpha was applied to measure the scale reliability using SPSS Version 24. Results: Data analyses demonstrate that the MAKE framework is a comprehensive instrument to evaluate teaching methods with four powerful constructs, each of which has two to four components. For each construct, the following data were obtained: for motivation, standardized alpha = 0.92, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) = 0.88, and p = 0.001; for attitude, standardized Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90, KMO = 0.88, and p = 0.001; for knowledge, standardized alpha = 0.92, KMO = 0.86, and p = 0.001; and finally, for engagement, standardized alpha = 0.90, KMO = 0.87, and p = 0.001. Cronbach’s alpha for each component was above the cut-off point (0.65). Conclusions: This study shows that the MAKE framework is a satisfactory instrument for assessing the efficacy of teaching methods for sexual health literacy in a variety of teaching environments. The method may also have value for assessing the effectiveness of other methods in adolescent sexual health education

Parent-perceived neighbourhood environment, parenting practices and preschool-aged children physical activity and screen time: a cross-sectional study of two culturally and geographically diverse cities

Background: Preschool-aged children’s physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) are important health-related behaviours likely influenced by PA opportunities, parental perceptions of neighbourhood safety and parenting practices pertaining to PA and ST. How these factors interact to impact on young children’s PA and ST, and whether their effects are generalisable across cultures and geographical location is not known. This study addressed these knowledge gaps by conducting pooled analyses of comparable data from two culturally and geographically diverse samples – Chinese parent-child dyads from an ultra-dense city (Hong Kong, China) and Latino parent-child dyads from a low-density city (Houston, USA). Methods: The analytical sample consisted of 164 Hong Kong Chinese and 84 US Latino parent-child dyads with data on socio-demographic characteristics, parent-perceived neighbourhood destinations and facilities for children’s PA, physical and social safety-related neighbourhood attributes, PA-related parenting practices and child’s ST and accelerometer-assessed PA. Generalised linear models with robust standard errors accounting for neighbourhoodlevel clustering were used to estimate associations and interaction effects. Results: Hong Kong Chinese children accumulated less PA than US Latino children, although the latter had more ST. Hong Kong Chinese parents reported more parenting practices promoting inactivity. Neighbourhood PA opportunities were positively related to children’s PA only if parental perceptions of neighbourhood safety were favourable, and the associations of physical neighbourhood environment characteristics with children’s PA and ST depended on PA-related parenting practices. Community cohesion was positively related to children’s PA and negatively related to ST, while parental promotion of ST was positively associated with children’s ST. Correlates of children’s PA and ST did not differ by city. Conclusions: The substantial diferences in activity patterns between Hong Kong Chinese and US Latino preschoolaged children observed in this study are likely due to a combination of cultural and built environmental factors. However, the fact that no between-city differences in correlates of PA and ST were detected indicates that both populations of children are equally affected by parent-perceived neighbourhood environmental characteristics and parenting practices. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering how various individual-, home- and neighbourhood physical and social factors interact to influence young children’s health-promoting activity levels

Associations Between Screen-Based Sedentary Behavior and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Korean Youth

The purposes of this study were to: 1) describe the patterns of screen-based sedentary behaviors, and 2) examine the association between screen-based sedentary behavior and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in representative Korean children and adolescents, aged 12 to 18 yr, in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Screen-based sedentary behavior was measured using self-report questionnaires that included items for time spent watching TV and playing PC/video games. Physical activity was measured using items for frequency and duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). CVD risk factors such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure were measured. Boys spent more time playing PC/video games, and girls spent more time watching TV. After adjusting for age, gender, annual household income, and MVPA, an additional hour of watching TV was significantly associated with the risk of overweight (OR 1.17 [95% CI 1.03-1.33]), high abdominal adiposity (OR 1.27 [1.06-1.51]), and low HDL cholesterol (OR 1.27 [1.10-1.47]). An additional hour spent playing PC/video games also increased the risk of high abdominal adiposity (OR 1.20 [1.03-1.40]). Prospective observations and interventions are needed to determine causal relationships between screen-based sedentary behavior and CVD risk profiles in Korean youth

Perspectives on Exergaming (Letter to the Editor)

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Contingent active gaming: feasibility and cardiovascular responses using the Gamercize® Stepper in Hong Kong Chinese girls

Symposia Session IV - S24 Innovative Aspects of Video Games for Diet and Physical Activity Change: no. S24.

Exergaming, the newest intervention in a medical fitness center

An important component in a pediatric obesity program is physical activity, both as an assessment of fitness and for overall exercise. Children who tend to be referred to such programs tend to dislike PE, exercise, and traditional forms of physical activity. Exergaming (interactive video games) is a new tool that can get these hard-to-motivate kids moving. Some programs, such as the Family Fit Zone program, have been incorporating exergaming for the last two years. The Family Fit Zone program is a 7-week family program for kids ages 6 to 14 who are referred by their pediatrician for weight management. Most are above the 85th-percentile on the BMI curve. Patients who have a state-run Medi-Cal program called Inland Empire Health Plan and are at or above the 85th-percentile are fully covered by this insurance plan. This session will cover the curriculum, discuss how exergaming is used in the program, and discuss some of the challenges in using this form of physical intervention. Preliminary results will be presented on a study just completed on this program

Acquisition of nutritional knowledge using footgaming in the classroom setting

LNCS v. 7516 entitled: E-learning and games for training, education, health and sports : 7th International Conference, Edutainment 2012 and 3rd International Conference, GameDays 2012 ... ProceedingsThe increasing trend in childhood obesity coupled with decreasing levels of academic achievement have given rise to the introduction of innovative technology, which offers physical activity elements together with healthy lifestyle learning objectives. In this preliminary study, we aimed to determine whether participation in Footgaming in the classroom setting would result in learning healthy, nutritional concepts. The experiences of student participation in the academic classroom and teachers perceptions of using active gaming in the academic classroom were also reported in self report journals. A total of 57 students (grades 3rd-5th) played nutritional games on the computer utilizing their feet to control mouse functions on a Footgaming pad. Nutritional knowledge was assessed at baseline and following 10 weeks of Footgaming in the classroom. These preliminary findings suggest that children can learn nutritional concepts using active video games in the classroom setting. Further qualitative analysis revealed that both teachers and students valued the educational experience received from playing the nutritional games. Although preliminary, these findings are an important step in improving the understanding of the influence of physical activity based technologies in the classroom setting