Physical Activity in Girl Scout Junior Troop Meetings – Part 2

The Girl Scouts of the USA offers one type of after-school program that could provide a unique setting to address girls’ physical activity in the absence of boys. Girl Scouts of America is organization dedicated solely to girls, and there are currently approximately 3.7 million members throughout the United States. Girl Scout troops are composed of similarly aged cohorts of girls, from kindergartners up to those in high school. Girl Scouts of the USA is making an effort to encourage healthy living among girls by offering more than 60 merit badges related to healthy living. Girl Scouts of the USA historically has had an emphasis on health to educate and empower girls to take action to strengthen their physical and emotional health (Girl Scouts of the United States of America, 2009.
Currently little is known about the physical activity and sedentary behaviors of girls attending Girl Scout meetings. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the physical activity levels and time spent in sedentary behavior of girls attending Girl Scout Junior troop meetings over a six-month period (October to March).
Seven Girl Scout Junior troops (generally composed of girls in the fourth and fifth grades) were recruited for a randomized controlled trial, Healthier Troops in a SNAP (Scouting Nutrition and Activity Program). SNAP was an intervention designed to improve the physical activity and nutrition environment in Girl Scout troops in an effort to bring about healthier behavior. Data from the four control condition (standard-care/no intervention) troops were used for the present study. Parental informed consent was obtained for all (n = 42, 100% female) children. Self-reported demographic information was obtained from questionnaires administered to girls and parents. The research protocol received approval from the IRB at Kansas State University.
Inclusion criteria for the study required each troop to have initial agreement of leaders and parents for the troop to participate in the research study; the troop to consist of girls primarily in the 4th and 5th grades; the troop to meet at least twice per month; and each troop to be officially registered as a Girl Scout Junior troop. An inclusion criterion at the individual level was for the girls to be attending members of Girl Scouts in one of the observed troops. Participating troops earned a modest stipend for taking part in the study.
Troop meetings were held either weekly (n = 2) or twice-monthly (n = 2), generally lasting between one and two hours in length. Troop size ranged from six to sixteen girls (mean = 11). Troop meetings were held at the Girl Scout ―Little House‖ property (n = 3), which can be described as a small kitchen and restroom adjoined to a large meeting room where tables and benches could be rearranged for various activities, or at a troop leader’s home (n = 1), located in one of two adjacent Midwestern towns, ranging in population from about 20,000 to 50,000. The sites used for the current study were the same facility or comparable to other intervention troop meeting sites where physical activity occurred.