A School-Based Nutrition and Fitness Program: Operation ToneUp

A School-Based Nutrition and Fitness Program: Operation ToneUp

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a school-based intervention, Operation ToneUp, can improve nutrition knowledge, fitness, and blood pressure in schoolchildren enrolled in grades 3-6. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Do students participating in the intervention show improved fitness, measured by upper body strength, core strength, and cardiovascular endurance?
2. Do students participating in the intervention show improved nutrition knowledge, measured by self-report?
3. Do students participating in the intervention show improved blood pressure, measured by blood pressure cuff?

Researchers will compare students participating in the intervention to students at comparison schools to see if fitness, nutrition knowledge, and blood pressure differ.

Participants in the intervention arm will complete two 20-minute web-based sessions focused on nutrition and fitness during class time. Participants in the comparison arm will not be exposed to Operation ToneUp. All participants will engage in pre- and post- testing including:

• PE-teacher assessed push-ups, curl-ups, and PACER test
• online self-reported nutrition knowledge assessments
• nurse-recorded blood pressure

Inclusion Criteria:

• Intervention schools 1) serve students in grades 3-6; 2) intend to implement Operation Tone-Up 3 days/week over 8 weeks; and 3) are not participating in other fitness related research
• Non-intervention schools 1) 1) serve students in grades 3-6 and 2) are not participating in other fitness related research
• Children/students are 1) boys or girls enrolled in 3rd-6th grade at participating schools, 2) without parent/caregiver opt-out

Exclusion Criteria:

• Schools do not serve students in grades 3-6 will be excluded from the study
• Students not enrolled in grades 3 through 6 or have parent/caregiver opt-out