Implementation, Addendum, and Evaluation of M.T.N. B.I.K.E.

Implementation and Addendum The initial plan for Mtn Bike was to use the Live It curriculum from the Oregon Dairy Council. This meeting was cancelled one week before I was supposed to start this project so I used the Presidents Challenge Award curriculum instead. The main difference between these programs is the Presidents Challenge is very activity and physical fitness based and less nutrition focused. I discussed the changes with Tim Sicocan, the club director, and he agreed we could have more space in the gym so I could have the kids do the sprints, sits, and pull-ups on the bars, in addition to our regular biking activities. This worked out perfectly as we had our own corner of the gym and the kids were able to have a larger area to ride in and we were separated from the rest of the club, so it kept distractions to a minimum.

I decided it was going to be the best if there was a small group of children who wanted to try and earn the PALA+ Award (Presidential Active Lifestyle Award). Eight children ranging in ages from 8-12 signed up to participate.

MTN BIKE was held on Mondays through January 7, 2013 and subsequently moved to Thursdays due to a scheduling conflict with a Monday evening class I had to attend.

Weekly Curriculum and Achievements

During the first week, I obtained base line heights, weights and fitness levels of the children. I had the kids practice the different PALA activities, so they knew how to do each maneuver correctly and to show them how they would be timed each week. The heights and weights were done in the main office with no one else present and I kept that information completely private, so no one else at the club knew that information, nor did any of the other children. These measurements were only taken at baseline and at the end of the program and only for evaluation purposes.

Each subsequent session consisted of a minimum of 1 hour of biking activity, participation in the PALA fitness tests, and a nutrition education session on the food of the week. I provided each child with snacks and this was paid for by John Benenate. Due to the curriculum changes and the small group size, I decided to forego the 3- day diet analysis plan, and focus on physical activity and nutrition education.

Evaluation In order to evaluate the outcomes of the PALA activities and the nutrition education the children received, I used the Fitness File software available at www.presidentschallenge.org.

This software allows you to enter each childs weekly fitness levels, progress notes, and goals. At the end of the 5 weeks of PALA, this tool allows you to create charts and graphs showing the childs progress as well as any Fitness Awards they may be eligible to receive.

I evaluated the children based upon baseline height & weight compared to height and weight on 2/7 and compared baseline fitness levels compared to week 5 fitness levels.

Every child improved their fitness level and 6 of the eight achieved results that acknowledged their physical fitness in the upper 90th percentile of all children their age! I found this to be an incredible achievement and the director of the club publicly recognized each of these children during their assembly on February 7th.

There are some areas I would have done differently if I were to do this project again. I would not take heights and weights of the children if I were doing this in the future. I found it to be only necessary for the evaluation portion of this project. You can see the difference in the stamina, strength and overall attitude of these children, just be being engaged in this challenge and learning about healthy snacks and food choices. I would have liked to complete a pre and post -test of the childrens nutrition knowledge. This was not an option during this session as I had a range of ages, education levels, and literacy skills. In the future, I think having a group of children closer in age and abilities would be more helpful when communicating the nutrition education concepts. It was a challenge to keep the younger kids interested and not bore the older ones.