Go Girls! Fitness Support Group Intervention Effectiveness Study
Go Girls! Fitness Support Group Intervention Effectiveness Study
The main purpose of this study is to determine if the Go Girls! program to take place at the
 Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center Therapeutic Recreation Gymnasium, intended to
 introduce girls to a fun, non-threatening environment of exercise with peer support, improves
 scores on a physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES). Information regarding enjoyment of
 physical activity before and after the program will allow objective evaluation of whether the
 program is achieving its mission. Qualitative responses to the questionnaires will give
 program leaders a better sense of potential attitudes and barriers to regular exercise for
 teen girls. These responses will be used to shape activities during this or future programs
 for teens. Anthropometric (e.g. body weight, blood pressure, waist circumference) and
 biochemical (bloodwork) data will allow us to determine whether any change in metabolic risk
 factors can be seen from this 6-month once weekly intervention.
Adolescent girls have low participation in physical activity compared to boys at all ages.
 Interventions to improve physical activity levels in children have shown greatest success
 when targeted to low-active adolescent girls and employ strategies to enhance adolescents'
 enjoyment of physical activity. Go Girls! is a new dance-based patient fitness support group
 being offered via the Pediatric Endocrinology division in conjunction with the Center for
 Research in Reproduction and the Children's Fitness Clinic for girls at-risk for
 weight-related medical complications, particularly those with excess weight, polycystic ovary
 syndrome (PCOS), diabetes mellitus, or insulin resistance. The goals of the program are to
 introduce girls to exercise in a fun, non-threatening environment, meet other girls with
 similar health concerns, enable girls to discover and develop a personal enjoyment of
 exercise, and enable low-pressure interactions with medical care providers. The primary aim
 of this study is to determine changes in girls' enjoyment of exercise. Our hypothesis is that
 introducing girls to a fun, non-threatening environment of exercise with peer support will
 modify scores on a physical activity enjoyment scale. Secondary aims will assess for changes
 in weekly exercise, attitudes about exercise, and metabolic parameters and evidence for
 androgen (male hormone) excess (a precursor to PCOS). Subjects will be recruited from girls
 already participating in the Go Girls! program. Go Girls! is open to girls ages 10-18 yr with
 diagnoses of abnormal weight gain, excess weight, insulin resistance, PCOS, premature
 adrenarche, or type 2 diabetes mellitus previously cared for by the Pediatric Endocrinology
 or Children's Fitness Clinics. Questionnaire, anthropometric, and optional fasting
 biochemical information will be collected from girls at the beginning (first month), middle
 (third month), and end of a 6-month exercise/support group intervention. Assessment of the
 primary aim will be by comparing scores on the validated Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale
 (PACES) compared before, during and after the intervention. Secondary aims will be assessed
 via self-reported estimates of weekly exercise, qualitative written assessments of attitudes
 towards exercise, and changes in biochemical data. Data obtained from the questionnaire will
 be used to assess the primary aim of this protocol. The biochemical information, obtained via
 optional blood draws at the beginning, middle, and end of the 6-month exercise/support group
 intervention will be used to address one of the secondary aims. These blood draws are
 optional so as not to deter subjects from participating in the main part of the study. Data
 from the questionnaire and anthropometric measurements will be useful for testing the primary
 and some of the secondary aims of this study, regardless of whether or not fasting
 biochemical information is obtained.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Female

 -  Ages 10-18 yr

 -  Participating in the Go Girls! program

 -  With diagnoses of abnormal weight gain, excess weight, insulin resistance, PCOS,
 premature adrenarche, or type 2 diabetes mellitus

 Exclusion Criteria:

 - Known pregnancy