Efficacy of the Athletes for Life Program to Promote Cardiovascular Health

The AFL intervention consisted of two 90-minute sessions per week for 12 months for both children and parents. The child physical activity sessions, held separately from the parent sessions, aimed to achieve 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during each session through structured play activities, athletic drills, and sport exercises. Child dietary behaviors were taught through educational activities in small groups. For the parent program, behavior modification techniques were used to guide parents toward changing their own and their child's behavior. Take-home materials for self-monitoring of behaviors were used for both the child and the parent in order to reinforce concepts discussed in class.

Families that were randomly assigned to the wait-list control group were asked not to change their normal physical activity or dietary behaviors for the duration of the 12-week waiting period. They were asked to participate in the baseline and 12-week evaluations and then they were enrolled to receive the 12-week intervention.