Trial reportThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2019
Efficacy of a compulsory homework programme for increasing physical activity and improving nutrition in children: a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of technology-infused physical activity interventions in K-12 school settings: effectiveness, roles, and implementation strategies.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Pooled it
- School-Based Homework Interventions for Improving 24-hour Movement Behaviours in Primary School Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 5 to 11 years old.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- The Effects of Park-Based Interventions on Health-Related Outcomes Among Youth: A Systematic Review.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2022Pooled it
- School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Identifying effective intervention strategies to reduce children's screen time: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Pooled it
- Themes in Train-the-Trainer Nutrition Education Interventions Targeting Middle School Students: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Development of a skills-based curriculum to equitably promote health behaviors through physical activity.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Innovating physical education with artificial intelligence: a potential approach.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The Erasmus+ EUMOVE project-a school-based promotion of healthy lifestyles to prevent obesity in European children and adolescents.European journal of public health · 2024Article
- Study Protocol for a Controlled Trial of Nutrition Education Intervention about Celiac Disease in Primary School: ZELIAKIDE Project.Nutrients · 2024Article
- A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of theChildren (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Interventions to prevent obesity in school-aged children 6-18 years: An update of a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis including studies from 2015-2021.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
- Association between dietary knowledge and overweight/obesity in Chinese children and adolescents aged 8-18 years: a cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- Active Homework: an under-researched element of the active schools concept.German journal of exercise and sport research · 2022Review
- Fitness Promotion in a Jump Rope-Based Homework Intervention for Middle School Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- The COVID-19 pandemic as a fortuitous disruptor in physical education: the case of active homework.AIMS public health · 2022Article
- The Effect of a 10-Week Physical Activity Programme on Fundamental Movement Skills in 3-4-Year-Old Children within Early Childhood Education Centres.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMost physical activity interventions in children focus on the school setting; however, children typically engage in more sedentary activities and spend more time eating when at home. The primary aim of this cluster randomised controlled trial was to investigate the effects of a compulsory, health-related homework programme on physical activity, dietary patterns, and body size in primary school-aged children.
methodsA total of 675 children aged 7-10 years from 16 New Zealand primary schools participated in the Healthy Homework study. Schools were randomised into intervention and control groups (1:1 allocation). Intervention schools implemented an 8-week applied homework and in-class teaching module designed to increase physical activity and improve dietary patterns. Physical activity was the primary outcome measure, and was assessed using two sealed pedometers that monitored school- and home-based activity separately. Secondary outcome measures included screen-based sedentary time and selected dietary patterns assessed via parental proxy questionnaire. In addition, height, weight, and waist circumference were measured to obtain body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). All measurements were taken at baseline (T
resultsSignificant intervention effects were observed for weekday physical activity at home (T
conclusionsA compulsory health-related homework programme resulted in substantial and consistent increases in children's physical activity - particularly outside of school and on weekends - with limited effects on body size and fruit consumption. Overall, our findings support the integration of compulsory home-focused strategies for improving health behaviours into primary education curricula.
trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12618000590268 . Registered 17 April 2018.
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