Suzanne Lanckriet¹, Elisabeth Brissieux¹, Jean-Michel Borys², Arnaud Jaruga¹, Coralie Schnebelen-Berthier¹, Elise Dekneudt¹, Alexandra Calais¹, Pierre Richard², Julie Mayer², Caroline Bournez³, Julie Penin³, Amar Djouak⁴, Angela Chieh⁵, Alexis Normand⁵, Martine Duclos^{6, 7}, Jean-Michel Lecerf^1,

Objective: Fewer than 10% of French children meet the WHO recommendations for physical activity (PA). As engaging in play activities is a key way to promote PA in children, we evaluated the effect of a sports kit called “Le Sport Ça Me Dit” (“Sport is fun”) that provides a recreational way to engage in sports. Design: This was an open longitudinal controlled study. The children were divided into two groups for the first 7 weeks (Period 1): an Action group that used the kit for two recreational sessions per week (comprising six different activities) and a Control group that was not provided use of the kit. For the next 7 weeks (Period 2), neither group was provided use of the kit. Setting: Six towns in northern France. Subjects: 213 children aged 8-11 were recruited: 122 for the Control group and 91 for the Action group. Each child received a 3D accelerometer wristband to measure their level of PA during the 14 weeks of the study. In parallel, the children completed a questionnaire, 3 times (before (T0), during (T1) and at the end of the study (T2)), regarding their PA habits, screen time, and sleep habits. Results: A significant increase in the steps number was observed when the sports kit was used (p=0.025); although this effect was lost over time (p=0.672). Subpopulation analysis revealed a significant increase in the steps number and light PA in overweight children in the Action group for both periods (p=0.018 and p=0.012). Conclusion: The use of the sports kit increased the PA level of the children, and particularly in overweight children. Although these results require further investigation, they provide novel insights in regard to overweight children.

physical activity, children, accelerometer, inactivity, overweight, QAPE