-Low-cost and easy to implement program can be effective when incorporated into school day-

AUSTIN, Texas -- A new study provides initial evidence of the positive impact of the Marathon Kids program (www.marathonkids.org) on promoting physical activity and healthy eating in 4th and 5th grade children from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Marathon Kids is a free, school and community-based program that promotes running and walking, healthy eating, and schoolyard gardening for children in grades K through 5 and their families.
 
Researchers at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living at The University of Texas School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus recently completed a one-year (2008-09 school year) evaluation study of Marathon Kids. Dr. Andrew Springer, Assistant Professor, Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, examined the impact of participation in the Marathon Kids program on physical activity engagement, fruit and vegetable consumption, and related psycho-social factors (such as student athletic identity and self-efficacy for physical activity) in a sample of 4th and 5th grade public elementary school children from eight low-income schools in Houston and Austin.

The study found that students enrolled in Marathon Kids at low-income schools participated more in running during the school year compared to non-Marathon Kids students. Participants also reported feeling more empowered to participate in physical activity, an increased likelihood of perceiving themselves as athletic, and had more positive attitudes about the benefits of engaging in physical activity. While fruit and vegetable consumption was generally higher for Marathon Kids, this was a programming area identified as requiring adjustment to achieve maximum impact. Completion rate for the program was high across all ethnic groups and while satisfaction with the program was also universal, highest levels of satisfaction were reported by Hispanic (74.9%) and African-American (64.3%) children, groups particularly at risk for obesity.

"Data from the Houston and Austin-area Marathon Kids show us that low-cost, community-school approaches for promoting physical activity and healthy eating during school and at home can be successful," said Dr. Springer, assistant professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health.

Rates of childhood obesity continue to soar throughout most of the US, especially in Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services (2005) estimated that 35 percent of Texas School-age children are overweight or obese. The University of Texas School of Public Health (2007) discovered 28 percent of kindergartners and 24 percent of 4th graders in Austin and 33 percent of school aged children in Houston are overweight and obese.

The Michael & Susan Dell Center for the Advancement of Healthy Living (www.sph.uth.edu/dellthealthyliving) was founded in 2006 with a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. The Center was established to conduct research to better understand and influence behaviors and environmental conditions that affect healthy living, with a vision of ‘healthy children in a healthy world’. The Center is housed in the University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, in Austin, TX.