While the World Health Organization recommends that adolescents obtain at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily, studies indicate that this goal is often not achieved worldwide. A recent article published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care explored the feasibility and initial effectiveness of the Intervention to Support Physical Activity Independence and Routine Everyday (INSPIRE) program. This program sought to encourage adolescent girls to increase physical activity and address possible barriers to this goal.
Inactive adolescent girls participated in a seven-week intervention that increased their physical activity levels and decreased their resting heart rate, improving overall health, including cardiorespiratory fitness scores and resting heart rates. Participants could utilize the Fitbit Inspire wearable activity tracker and application to set goals for physical activity and increase their motivation to be physically active. Throughout this program, participants gained knowledge of physical activity guidelines and incorporated them into their lifestyles.
“Especially during the pandemic, it became obvious that we also have this other pandemic of inactivity that’s occurring across all ages,” said article co-author Vicki R. Voskuil, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC. “Adolescents, in general, are not active enough.”
With physical activity often decreasing with age, it is essential to empower adolescents to take responsibility for their own physical activity and fitness goals in the hopes of creating lasting change into adulthood. Providers can use the INSPIRE program as a resource to share with adolescent patients who need to increase their activity levels.
The article “Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness of the INSPIRE Pilot Study for Adolescent Girls” was published in the January/February edition of the Journal of Pediatric Health Care and can be accessed here.
Feb. 15, 2024
