Club Fit: Development of a Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Intervention at a Boys & Girls Club After School Program
Journal of Primary Prevention Apr 2020
Club Fit is a multi-component childhood obesity prevention initiative developed through a community-based participatory approach between the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester (BGCR) and RHCP. The program aimed to promote physical activity and healthy eating among socioeconomically diverse youth through five integrated strategies: policy implementation, structured health challenges, peer coaching, staff training, and social marketing. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory and the Social Ecological Model, these components targeted individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors influencing health behaviors. The pilot study involved 61 participants aged 8–17 and assessed changes in psychosocial constructs, health behaviors, and BMI over six months using a single-group pre-post design.
Results showed significant improvements in self-efficacy and motivation for physical activity, while changes in dietary behaviors, social support, and BMI were not statistically significant. However, higher attendance at Club Fit sessions correlated with reductions in BMI z-scores, suggesting a dose–response effect. Implementation challenges included low attendance, pre-existing policy changes, and seasonal factors, highlighting the complexity of real-world intervention delivery. Despite limitations such as small sample size and lack of a control group, the initiative demonstrated promise for addressing obesity-related health disparities in after-school settings. Lessons learned informed revisions to enhance caregiver engagement, peer coach roles, and staff training, and future research will focus on controlled trials to evaluate effectiveness across similar programs.