Abstract

GARCIA-PACHECO, Ángel Francisco  and  HERNANDEZ-POZO, María del Rocío. Intervention programs to increase physical activity among elementary and highschool children: a systematic review. J. behav. health soc. ISSUES [online]. 2011, vol.3, n.2, pp.25-47. ISSN 2007-0780.  https://doi.org/10.5460/jbhsi.v3.2.29917.

Absence of physical activity has been singled out as one of the predictors of obesity. Mexico occupies the second place in the world for child obesity (24.2%), forcing scholars and decision makers at the government to study ways to change this tendency, given the high co-morbidity obesity plays with other public health problems of high expenditures for the country. A critical review of interventions for increasing physical activity in children and teenagers was performed based upon empirical studies published in the last three years, employing robust measures additional to self reports in order to produce a diagnosis. Analysis of 11 studies in specialized journals published in English produced the following conclusions: Latin American countries do not consider research in physical activity a priority, most of the studies were not randomized, neither explored relationships among physiological, cognitive and behavioral variables, and there was a lack of contingencial models that could predict children physical activity.

Keywords : Intervention programs; physical activity; robust measurements; children; elementary school; high school.