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Table 1 Examples of intervention activities in the Let’s Move It student intervention

From: Randomised controlled feasibility study of a school-based multi-level intervention to increase physical activity and decrease sedentary behaviour among vocational school students

Objectives

Activities

BCTs

Determinants

Identifying Personal Motives Group Activity (Session 3)

Students:

• engage in reflecting personally meaningful reasons to be physically active

• learn about the various positive consequences of PA

• link physical activity to their current wellbeing concerns and values

• understand that their peers have positive attitudes toward PA and appreciate its consequences

• engage in “change talk”, arguments in favour of PA

• understand that it is possible to enhance/develop PA motivation

• Cards showing beneficial consequences of PA are on table

• Students are asked to select at least one benefit card, reflecting on personally important reasons for being physically active (or why they would like to increase their PA)

• Students show the benefit card they have chosen and tell others why

• Facilitator leads discussions so that students speak of a range of positive consequences of PA (especially consequences not related to extrinsic goals, e.g. appearance)

• Facilitator highlights that everyone has their own personally meaningful reasons to be physically active (e.g. not everyone has to be motivated by competition)

• If students are reluctant to select a card or talk about it, this is accepted.

5.1. Information about health consequences

5.2. Salience of consequences

5.3. Information about social and environmental consequences

5.4. Information about emotional consequences

6.3. Information about others’ approval

13.2 Framing/Reframing

Knowledge

Outcome expectations

Autonomous motivation (integrated regulation)

Descriptive norm

Self-efficacy

Coping Plan Consultants (Session 5)

Students

• learn strategies to identify and overcome barriers to PA

• are introduced to the term ‘coping planning’ and understand its relevance

• learn various strategies to overcome PA barriers, e.g. how to restructure social and physical environments to support achievement of PA goals

• understand that it is possible to tackle various barriers and obstacles in youth PA, and increase their self-efficacy

• when “coaching” the imaginary person, students are able to both take the role of an “outside expert”, and focus on solutions rather than problems, thus enhancing their self-efficacy

• In groups of four, students read an imaginary case of an adolescent: a description of barriers in his/her life that make PA difficult

• Small groups identify the PA barriers and try to generate solutions

• Students are encouraged to draw from experiences from their own lives, if they want to

• Groups present their case and solutions to the whole class

• Facilitator emphasizes problem solving (instead of only identifying the barriers) and normalizes having various barriers in youth’s life

1.2. Problem solving

4.2. Information about antecedents of behaviour

3.1. Social support

13.1 Identification of self as role model

Behavioral self-regulation

Self-efficacy

Fitness Knowledge Quiz (Session 6)

Students understand

• that physical fitness (PF) consists of three different dimensions (strength, mobility and aerobic fitness)

• types of PA that improve dimensions of PF, and that some ways of exercising can improve all three (e.g. gymnastics) while others focus more on other areas (e.g. yoga on mobility & strength, or running on aerobic fitness)

• how often they should exercise according to national recommendations, at the same time highlighting that even small increases provide benefits

• the importance of increasing PA gradually

• and can identify how PF is related to personally important outcomes (e.g. strength and back pain)

• In a playful quiz, students answer questions related to physical fitness/PA in groups of five (1st round: what kind of sports enhance the different dimensions of physical fitness, 2nd round: How often adolescents should exercise according to the national PA recommendations?)

• Groups write down their answers

• Facilitator highlights that even little movement is better than nothing

• PE teacher attended the session and acted as an impartial referee

• Facilitator highlights how different dimensions of PF should be trained equally and one should always take one’s starting level into consideration (rules for safe training)

• Facilitator highlights importance of finding the type of PA each one enjoys and the linkage with personal motives, preferences and values

4.1. Instruction on how to perform a behavior

5.1. Information about health consequences

5.2. Salience of consequences

8.7. Graded tasks

15.1. Verbal persuasion about capability

Knowledge

Outcome expectations

Autonomous motivation

Self-efficacy