Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40437604›Full record

ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2025

Population level effects of the active kids program on children and adolescents' physical activity and sport participation in NSW, Australia.

Katherine B Owen, Bridget C Foley, Lindsey J Reece, William Bellew, Adrian Bauman

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Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Katherine B OwenPrevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Katherine.owen@sydney.edu.au.
Bridget C FoleyPrevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Lindsey J ReecePrevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
William BellewPrevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Adrian BaumanPrevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundActive Kids was a universal program that aimed to reduce the cost of sport and active recreation programs for all school-enrolled children and adolescents (4.5-18 years) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia through provision of $100 vouchers. This study assesses trends in physical activity and sport participation in children and adolescents in NSW during its implementation to determine population level program effects.

methodsThis study used the Active Kids program data from January 31 2018 to December 31 2022. Children and adolescents who registered in the program provided physical activity and sport participation data each year. The NSW Population Health Survey (PHS) and NSW AusPlay data measured the same outcomes from 2017 to 2022 in representative samples of the population. We calculated weighted prevalence estimates for physical activity and sport participation each year, and by age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

resultsIn the five-years of Active Kids program implementation, there was a slight decrease in the proportion of children and adolescents meeting physical activity guidelines (2018: 19.3%, 95% CI 19.2-19.4; 2022: 16.1%, 95% CI 16.0-16.2). In PHS between 2017 and 2022, there was also a slight decrease in the proportion of children and adolescents meeting physical activity guidelines (2017: 32.6%, 95% CI 29.1-36.0; 2022: 27.9%, 95% CI 24.4-31.5), with a larger drop in 2020 (24.4%, 95% CI 20.8-27.9). In the same period (2018-2022), there was a decrease in the proportion of children and adolescents who participated in sport at least once per week (2018: 70.3%, 95% CI 70.2-70.4; 2022: 53.6%, 95% CI 53.5-53.7). There was also a decrease in the proportion of children and adolescents who participated in sport at least once per week between 2017 and 2021 (2017: 78.2% 95% CI 74.5-81.9; 2021: 63.4%, 95% CI 60.1-66.8), with a slight increase in 2022 (69.8%, 95% CI 66.7-72.9).

conclusionsWe found no increases in overall population levels of physical activity or sport participation among children and adolescents in NSW between 2017 and 2022. The single-component, universal program design should be modified, using targeted behaviour change theories, to address inequalities and stimulate population-level increases in physical activity and sport participation.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12618000897268).

Indexed as

ExerciseHealth PromotionSportsAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHealth SurveysHumansMaleNew South WalesProgram EvaluationAdolescentsBehavior changeChildrenEvaluationFinancial incentiveLeisure-timePhysical activityPolicySportVoucher

Identifiers

PMID40437604
PMCPMC12117741

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.