Abstract
We investigated whether a seven-month (November 2014 to June 2015), school-based cluster-randomized controlled physical activity intervention improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 10-year old children. The participants (N = 1229) from 57 elementary schools in Sogn og Fjordane County, Norway, were cluster-randomized by school either to the intervention (I) or control (C) group. The planned intervention in the 28 I-schools was 300 min of physical activity per week, compared to 135 min in the 29C-schools. HRQoL was assessed by self-report, using the Kidscreen-27 questionnaire. Objectively measured physical activity did not differ between the I–schools and C-schools during the intervention. No effect of the intervention was found for HRQoL: Physical well-being (P = 0.789), Psychological well-being (P = 0.682), Autonomy & parents (P = 0.662), Social support & peers (P = 0.828) and School environment (P = 0.074). In conclusion, the ASK school-based physical activity intervention showed no significant effect on HRQoL.
Highlights
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multidimensional construct encompassing physical, emotional, mental, social and behavioural components of well-being and functioning
In two of the three studies that showed an effect on HRQoL outcomes in the latter review, no significant increases in physical activity were shown in the intervention groups
We found no effect of the intervention on any HRQoL domains (Table 2)
Summary
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multidimensional construct encompassing physical, emotional, mental, social and behavioural components of well-being and functioning. Reviews of RCTs evaluating the effects of physical activity interventions on different HRQoL outcomes in children and adolescents show a mixed picture. A review of 11 RCTs with large-scale school based interventions, with typically 1 year of follow-up; suggests none or only trivial effects on wellbeing in children and adolescents between 4 and 16 years, even in the presence of statistically modest significant increases in objectively measured physical activity (Rafferty et al, 2016). Only 4 out of 11 studies included in the review of Rafferty et al, used measures that were broad enough to capture the multidimensional nature of HRQoL (i.e., including physical, emotional and social domains). In two of the three studies that showed an effect on HRQoL outcomes in the latter review, no significant increases in physical activity were shown in the intervention groups
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