I have a medical condition that makes me nervous to play actively with my friends and family.
What would help to boost my confidence when it comes to physical activities?
We've heard a lot from kids like you who are unsure
if it's safe to play actively.
So we decided to conduct a research study to determine how to best help
children and youth with various medical conditions
feel more confident about being physically active,
as this is a really important part of having a healthy lifestyle,
even if you have a medical condition.
So over a two year period, we worked with 83 participants, ages 8
to 17 years of age from six different medical clinics here at CHEO,
who said they felt motivated to be physically active
but were unsure how or afraid to do so.
We split the kids into two groups.
One started right away with a 12-week physical activity program
led by a kinesiologist, who's essentially a specialized physical activity trainer
The second group waited for six months to do the exact same program.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these sessions
had to happen virtually.
We discovered that those that attended the in-person sessions
showed a 15% increase in physical activity confidence,
that better prepared them to participate with their peers.
Those who attended virtually or with the delayed intervention group
showed very little change in exercise activity or confidence.
This study shows that an in-person
yet tailored kinesiologist-led physical activity program
effectively boosts confidence and helps kids get active.