Abstract
BackgroundIn the United Kingdom, most youth fail to achieve the government guideline of 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily. Reasons that are frequently cited for the underachievement of this guideline include (1) a lack of awareness of personal physical activity levels (PALs) and (2) a lack of understanding of what activities and different intensities contribute to daily targets of physical activity (PA). Technological advances have enabled novel ways of representing PA data through personalized tangible three-dimensional (3D) models.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of 3D-printed models to enhance youth awareness and understanding of and motivation to engage in PA.MethodsA total of 39 primary school children (22 boys; mean age 7.9 [SD 0.3] years) and 58 secondary school adolescents (37 boys; mean age 13.8 [SD 0.3] years) participated in a 7-week fading intervention, whereby participants were given 3D-printed models of their previous week’s objectively assessed PALs at 4 time points. Following the receipt of their 3D model, each participant completed a short semistructured video interview (children, 4.5 [SD 1.2] min; adolescents, 2.2 [SD 0.6] min) to assess their PA awareness, understanding, and motivation. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed to enable key emergent themes to be further explored and identified.ResultsAnalyses revealed that the 3D models enhanced the youths’ awareness of and ability to recall and self-evaluate their PA behaviors. By the end of the study, the youths, irrespective of age, were able to correctly identify and relate to the government’s PA guideline represented on the models, despite their inability to articulate the government's guideline through time and intensity. Following the fourth 3D model, 72% (71/97) of the youths used the models as a goal-setting strategy, further highlighting such models as a motivational tool to promote PA.ConclusionsThe results suggest that 3D-printed models of PA enhanced the youths’ awareness of their PA levels and provided a motivational tool for goal setting, potentially offering a unique strategy for future PA promotion.
Highlights
The government of the United Kingdom recommends that youth aged 5 to 18 years should engage in 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day [1] to accrue associated physiological [2,3] and psychosocial health benefits [4,5]
[22] Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) from the Stages of Change [23], an individual can only be expected to proceed to the contemplation stage when they become aware that their behaviors are not optimal, such as “I do this much moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) but this much MVPA is recommended” [11]
The findings suggest that the three-dimensional Body mass index (BMI) (3D) model feedback offered a unique strategy to enhance youth awareness of their physical activity levels (PALs) and associations to the government guideline as well as provide the youths with a motivational tool for goal setting
Summary
BackgroundThe government of the United Kingdom recommends that youth (children and adolescents) aged 5 to 18 years should engage in 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day [1] to accrue associated physiological [2,3] and psychosocial health benefits [4,5]. The Goal Setting Theory [24] notes that setting specific and challenging, yet achievable, goals, in conjunction with feedback regarding performance toward goal attainment, is important to enhance an individual’s self-efficacy (ie, an individual’s belief to perform a behavior) and health behavior change In this regard, personalized feedback that represents an individual’s PALs in contrast to the recommended level of activity (ie, acting as a goal) is recognized as an important method for raising one’s awareness of their PA behaviors and subsequent behavior change [25]. Technological advances have enabled novel ways of representing PA data through personalized tangible three-dimensional (3D) models
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