PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF 9-12-YEAR-OLD YOUTH IN A COMMUNITY-BASED DIABETES PREVENTION PROGRAM: THE E.P.I.C. KIDS STUDY

Abstract

Background. Childhood type II diabetes (T2D) is increasing at an alarming rate in the United States due to poor dietary choices, decreased physical activity, and increased obesity rates. It is crucial to focus on prevention through emphasizing the importance of healthy lifestyle habits, especially in young populations. Methods. The first cohort of the pilot E.P.I.C. Kids community-based diabetes prevention program included 28 children ages 9-12 with a BMI ≥ 85th percentile for youth. The participants were asked to wear Actigraph GT3X accelerometers for seven consecutive days at each time point (baseline, 12-week, 24-week). The devices collected activity counts using 30-second epochs and the Evenson cut points for children were applied to determine average minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results. Of the beginning 28 participants, complete physical activity data was collected at baseline and 12-week time periods for 18. The average physical activity time per day for all 18 participants decreased from 26.81 to 25.65 minutes, deeming the results statistically insignificant with a p-value of 0.81. Conclusion. The majority of children at-risk of developing T2D do not engage in regular physical activity, thus not meeting health-related guidelines, and diabetes prevention programs such as E.P.I.C. Kids may reduce T2D risk.