Newswise — Dr. Lorraine Robbins of the College of Nursing at Michigan State University has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Her study entitled, "Middle School Physical Activity Intervention for Girls," aims to help middle school-age girls increase their physical activity and improve other health-related behaviors. According to federal estimates, of the approximately 5 million middle school girls in the United States, over 1.5 million are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight. "One major reason underlying this serious health-related problem is a lack of adequate moderate to vigorous physical activity among pre-teen and teenage girls," said Robbins. The study will reach two middle schools in the Lansing school district. The intervention consists of motivational individually tailored counseling that is combined with an after-school physical activity club.
Administrators from the Lansing school district are participating in this intervention because it helps to enhance their continuous efforts to promote the health of their students. Approximately 70 girls in the sixth and seventh grades that do not meet national moderate to vigorous activity recommendations for girls this age will participate.
"Research that I have conducted in the past clearly indicates that girls are interested in participating in an after-school program that involves physical activity. Girls report needing someone to talk to about their feelings related to physical activity " a person who can regularly motivate them to be physically active," said Robbins. Dr. Robbins became interested in physical activity among girls after observing girls low physical activity levels during recess at her daughter's elementary school. At the time, she had difficulty finding a community-sponsored sports team that involved young girls who were athletically-skilled and interested in competition. Because she had no other options, her daughter joined a boys' soccer team. These circumstances did nothing to help her daughter socially connect with other girls of early elementary school age.
Nearly 10 years ago, Dr. Robbins was offered a post-doctoral research experience funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research to fully direct her research efforts toward increasing physical activity among middle school girls. As a result of her prior experiences on the elementary school playground and with the community sports teams, Dr. Robbins felt that she "absolutely needed to accept this important challenge."
A collaborative team of MSU researchers will be working with Dr. Robbins on the "Middle School Physical Activity Intervention for Girls" study."¢ Dr. Karin Pfeiffer, co-investigator on the project and assistant professor of exercise physiology from the Department of Kinesiology, College of Education. She is also involved with the Center for Physical Activity and Health."¢ Dr. Kimberly Maier, statistician and assistant professor in the measurement and quantitative methods program from the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education."¢ Dr. Carrie Heeter, project advisor and professor of serious game design from the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media."¢ Ms. Stacey LaDrig, MS, project manager and graduate of the master's program in biomechanics from the Department of Kinesiology, College of Education.
"I am fortunate to work with this team of talented researchers. I expect that the extensive interdisciplinary knowledge and expertise involved in this study will ensure a comprehensive understanding of the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of this intervention. We look forward to improving the health of middle school girls in the Lansing community," said Robbins.
"Middle School Physical Activity Intervention for Girls," is supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. NIH Grant #: 1R21HL090705 - 01A2.
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