Children today spend many hours sitting at school and at home, often in front of screens. Prolonged sitting in childhood increases the risk of future health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and poor mental wellbeing. MAFF is a simple school-to-home programme that teaches short, practical movement breaks in the classroom and encourages families to repeat them together at home through structured weekly challenges. Over 12 weeks, we will compare classes using MAFF with classes continuing as usual to assess whether children sit less, move more and improve their wellbeing. If effective, MAFF will provide schools and communities with an easy-to-implement toolkit to promote healthier and more active families.
Enrolled in participating Portuguese public schools
Written informed consent provided by a parent or legal guardian
Assent provided by the child
Able to participate in light-to-moderate physical activity as part of normal school activities
Medical conditions or physical limitations that contraindicate participation in physical activity
Cognitive, developmental, or behavioural conditions that would prevent understanding or adherence to the intervention procedures (as assessed by school staff)
Lack of parental/legal guardian consent
Concurrent participation in another structured physical activity or behavioural intervention study
Parallel
Name: MAFF (Methodology for Family Physical Activity)
BehavioralMAFF is a low-cost, scalable behavioural intervention designed to reduce sedentary time and increase physical activity in children through a school-to-home transfer model. It integrates: Structured micro-activity breaks in classroom settings Family-based movement challenges to reinforce behaviour at home Behavioural mechanisms grounded in the COM-B model (capability, opportunity, motivation) Ecological reinforcement through repeated exposure across contexts (school and family) No specialised equipment is required.
Daily Sedentary Time
Daily sedentary time measured via validated self-report instruments and accelerometry (subsample). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) assessed using validated questionnaires and accelerometry (subsample). Assessment time points: baseline (T0), post-intervention at 12 weeks (T1), and 3-month follow-up (T2).
Screen Time
Screen Time: Self-reported daily screen exposure. Sleep: Assessed using a validated sleep questionnaire. Psychological Distress: Measured using the DASS-21. Family Cohesion: Assessed with FACES IV (Portuguese version). Anthropometrics (Exploratory): BMI percentile and waist circumference. Adherence to Intervention: Based on session attendance and home challenge completion logs. Assessment Time Points: Baseline (T0), post-intervention 12 weeks (T1), 3-month follow-up (T2); adherence tracked during intervention.
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal
Lead sponsor
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal. Escola Superior de Saúde.
Collaborator
University of Évora
Collaborator
This trial is not recruiting at the moment. You can still explore other options:
