Topic: Obesity, Physical Activity
Target Population: Early Childhood
Sector: School-Based
This program is for children in preschool.
Food Friends®: Get Movin’ With Mighty Moves®, initially developed for use in Head Start programs, is a school-based or child care based program that is designed to increase physical activity and improve gross motor development in young children.
A randomized controlled trial conducted in eight Head Start centers demonstrated significant changes in gross motor skill development for preschoolers in the intervention group compared to the control group. No significant changes were observed for physical activity behaviors or weight status. Results from a quasiexperimental study indicated a significant effect on object control skills at a 2-year follow up. There was no intervention effect on balance, running speed and agility, or strength. Results from a second quasiexperimental study among preschool children in Guam indicated no differences between groups in gross motor skills. This program appears to be effective for enhancing gross motor skill performance but was unable to establish efficacy for increasing children's physical activity levels or impacting their weight status.
The Food Friends: Get Movin' With Mighty Moves program was developed at Colorado State University with feedback from experts in health promotion, exercise science, occupational therapy, and child development and is designed to complement the The Food Friends: Fun With New Foods* program. This program intends to help teachers engage children in structured movement activities that could increase physical fitness and gross motor skills efficiency.
The program is comprised of three components that include teacher/provider training, classroom/family child care home implementation, and home connection. The program objectives include the following:
*A separate Factsheet is available for The Food Friends: Fun With New Foods program.
The extent to which the program has been used is unknown.
Training is required and is regularly offered in Colorado. On-site training is also available, and trainers will travel to other locations for $1000 plus travel expenses.
Considerations for implementing this program include understanding that this program is intended to be used in conjunction with The Food Friends: Fun With New Foods program, coordinating staff training, recognizing program kits will need to be purchased, and making time to implement the structured activities with children during the day.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing The Food Friends: Get Movin’ With Mighty Moves, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you! Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Get Movin’ With Mighty Moves is an 18-week program with 4 weekly lessons that last 15 to 20 minutes each. The structured activities are designed to be used within the normal daily routine of Head Start programs.
Information on implementation costs was not located.
To move Food Friends: Get Movin’ With Mighty Moves to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact Colorado State University College of Health and Human Sciences by mail 217 L.L. Gibbons Building, 850 Oval Drive, 1501 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1501, phone 1-970-491-6331 or email chhsinfo@colostate.edu
www.foodfriends.org (This website no longer contains program information.), https://www.clincosm.com/trial/childhood-obesity-united-states-the-food-friends and https://www.nutritional-psychology.org/research-summaries/a-longitudinal-intervention-to-improve-young-childrens-liking-and-consumption-of-new-foods-findings-from-the-colorado-leap-study/
Aflague, T. F., Badowski, G., Sanchez, H., Sablan, D., Schroeder, C. M., Sanchez, E., & Leon Guerrero, R. T. (2021). Improving willingness to try fruits and vegetables and gross motor skills in preschool children in Guam. Nutrients, 14(1), 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14010093
Bellows, L. L., Davies, P. L., Anderson, J., & Kennedy, C. (2013). Effectiveness of a physical activity intervention for head start preschoolers: A randomized intervention study. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67(1), 28-36. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2013.005777
Bellows, L. L., Davies, P. L., Courtney, J. B., Gavin, W. J., Johnson, S. L., & Boles, R. E. (2017). Motor skill development in low-income, at-risk preschoolers: A community-based longitudinal intervention study. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(11), 997-1002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.04.003
Bellows, L. L., & Anderson, J. (2013). The food friends get movin' with mighty moves : A physical activity program for preschoolers. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 45(5), 473-475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2013.01.024
Bellows, L. L., Anderson, J., Davies, P., & Kennedy, C. (2009). Integration of social marketing elements in the design of a physical activity program for preschoolers. Social Marketing Quarterly, 15(1), 2-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15245000802695190
Bellows, L. L., Anderson, J., Gould, S. M., & Auld, G. (2008). Formative research and strategic development of a physical activity component to a social marketing campaign for obesity prevention in preschoolers. Journal of Community Health, 33(3), 169-178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-007-9079-z
Bellows, L. L., Johnson, S. L., Davies, P. L., Anderson, J., Gavin, W. J., & Boles, R. E. (2013). The Colorado LEAP study: Rationale and design of a study to assess the short term longitudinal effectiveness of a preschool nutrition and physical activity program. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1146-1146. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1146
Bellows, L. L., Silvernail, S., Caldwell, L., Bryant, A., Kennedy, C., Davies, P., & Anderson, J. (2011). Parental perception on the efficacy of a physical activity program for preschoolers. Journal of Community Health, 36(2), 231-237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-010-9302-1
Bryant, A., Anderson, J., & Bellows, L. L. (2008). P46: Evaluation of a parent component to a physical activity program targeting preschoolers. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 40(4), S62-S62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2008.03.106
Roach, J., Bellows, L. L., & Anderson, J. (2008). P42: Evaluation of early childhood educators implementing a physical activity program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 40(4), S60-S60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2008.03.102
Swindle, T., Zhang, D., Johnson, S. L., Whiteside-Mansell, L., Curran, G. M., Martin, J., … Bellows, L. L. (2021). A mixed-methods protocol for identifying successful sustainability strategies for nutrition and physical activity interventions in childcare. Implementation Science Communications, 2(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-021-00108-x
