Institute of Youth Sport

School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University, September 2007

Trish Gorely, Mary Nevill, John Morris, David Stensel, Charlotte Edwardson, Susie Brown and Alan Nevill

Introduction

The Great Activity Revolution (Take to The Streets) uses the principle that the incentive of an event works to increase activity and fitness levels. Twenty five years has taught us that the key motivator for changing behaviour towards activity and participation is the challenge of an event. If you have a big enough goal, you prepare for it. As you prepare you get better, you get fitter.

This is information we have taken for granted but has never actually been proven. The Great Fun 2 Run study has, for the first time, looked at the actual physical effect that the motivation of an event has on activity levels and it is this which has formed the scientific theory behind the Great Activity Revolution.

GreatFun2Run is an innovative physical activity and health initiative for primary age children which was developed by Nova International was piloted in the North East of England during 2005-6 and the evaluation was undertaken by the Institute of Youth Sport at Loughborough University.

The intervention

A control group was used alongside a test group. The test group were given the incentive of highlight running events in which they were to take part. Teachers of the control group were also supplied with material to be used within lesson plans along with a website facility focussing on physical activity and healthy eating.

The research methods

Data was recorded from the children in the form of;

1) steps taken
2) minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity
3) estimated body fat and body mass indices
4) interviews with teachers and parents as well as focus groups with children

Conclusion

In summary, the intervention was highly successful in increasing physical activity and also had some success in slowing the increase in estimated body fat and waist circumference in young people as they became older. The most successful parts of the intervention were considered to be the highlight events in providing a goal for young people to increase their physical activity and where the intervention became a whole school, high profile initiative.