The purpose of the New Moves study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based all girls alternative to regular physical education class for inactive high school girls. New Moves uses a large-scale community randomized controlled study involving girls from six intervention schools and six control schools. The New Moves class includes physical activity, nutritional guidance, and social support within a supportive, non-competitive environment. In addition the program includes individual counseling sessions.~The primary research hypothesis is that girls in the intervention condition will significantly decrease their percent body fat as compared to girls in the control condition. Secondary research hypothesis to be tested are that girls in the intervention condition will significantly increase their level of physical activity and improve the quality of their dietary intake as compared to girls in the control condition. In addition a range of socioenvironmental, personal, and behavioral variables will be compared across conditions.
The New Moves study will evaluate the impact of a school based program for inactive high school girls who are overweight or at risk for being overweight due to low levels of physical activity. The primary study hypothesis is that girls in the intervention schools will significantly decrease their percent body fat as compared to girls in the control schools. Secondary research hypotheses include that girls in the intervention condition will significantly increase their physical activity levels and improve the quality of their dietary intake.