TAAG — not a game: A study to increase activity by adolescent girls

Melpomene Journal, Fall-Winter, 2002 by Karen Kroll

Who says physical education classes can only consist of basketball or volleyball? Several schools across the country are experimenting with everything from cardio-kickboxing to hip-hop aerobics.

The classes are part of a study called TAAG -- Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls. The study is being funded by the National Institutes of Health for $35 million, and is taking place over six years. Its objective is to prevent or reduce the decline in physical activity levels and cardiopulmonary fitness of middle school girls. One way to do that is to include new activities in traditional physical education classes.

Six universities across the country are launching what is known as TAAG "intervention programs." The universities are: San Diego State, Tulane, Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina-Chapel Hill and South Carolina-Columbia.

TAAG researchers from the universities will work with the girls and phy ed teachers at three nearby middle schools, as well as with community groups in the area. For instance, the researchers could work with the teachers and community groups to help them provide activities that girls are likely to enjoy, and that aren't currently offered within their school, such as aerobics or a running/walking program. TAAG researchers also will provide the girls and teachers with information and materials showing the girls what a fit and active lifestyle is, and how they can plan now to be active well into the future.

Sobering statistics

The statistics showing the need to keep middle school girls (sixth through eighth grade) interested in physical fitness are sobering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percent of young women that engage in regular, vigorous activity declines from about 65 percent at age 12 to 50 percent by age 16. Currently, less than one in five middle and junior high schools require daily physical activity for all students, reports the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "The decline is so prevalent," says Jennifer Reeves, TAAG intervention coordinator with the University of Arizona. "A sixth grade girl walks in active. When she walks out of the sixth grade, she's not the same person."

The benefits of regular physical activity for young people also are well documented. Most importantly, active young people are likely to become active, healthier adults, cutting their risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes and certain cancers, reports the Department of Health and Human Services.

Several factors contribute to the drop in activity among middle-school girls, say physical education teachers and researchers. For starters, many adolescent girls are interested in the social aspects of physical activity and don't always want to focus on competition. However, opportunities to be active without being ultra-competitive often are slim. "They're really isn't a middle ground," says Tracey Courteau, a seventh-grade physical education teacher at Skyview Middle School in Oakdale, Minnesota." As a result, many girls simply do nothing."

"Time pressures may prompt some girls to opt out of organized activities," says Jeanna Rex, TAAG intervention coordinator with the University of Minnesota. "Many middle-school girls are active in a number of activities, such as church groups, music lessons and the like. It's easy for physical activities to fall by the wayside."

Finally, girls' modesty about their changing bodies also may play a role.

For instance, girls who have begun menstruating may worry that they'll have an accident and stain their gym shorts. That can be particularly intimidating in coed phy ed classes.

How TAAG works

The TAAG study's pilot phase began in the spring of 2002. Researchers at each of the six universities worked with one middle school near their campuses, and helped them either enhance an existing activity, such as developing an intramural basketball program that complemented the school's competitive program, or offer a new activity for the girls. The goal was to try different activities to see what clicked and what needed improvement.

The pilot phase will continue through the 2002-2003 school year. In the fall of 2003, the main phase of the trial gets underway; it will last through the spring of 2005. Researchers will work with teachers and sixth grade girls at two more middle schools near their universities, for a total of three "intervention" schools near each university. They'll follow the girls through seventh and eighth grades. As with the pilot phase, researchers will help the middle-school teachers either enhance existing programs or develop new ones for the girls.

Also beginning in 2003 and continuing through 2005, three other middle schools near each university will act as "control schools." While the girls there won't participate in TAAG activities, researchers will measure their activity levels. That way, they can determine whether the TAAG programs are helping to increase activity levels. Altogether, between the control and intervention schools, about 6,000 girls will participate in the trials.