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Background: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a home‐based intervention—Amagugu Asakhula—to promote nurturing interactions and healthy behaviours with the caregivers of preschool children. Amagugu Asakhula means "treasures that are still growing" and focuses on children's cognitive development, physical activity, screen time, diet and sleep while also promoting the caregiver–child relationship. Methods: This study took place in a low‐income setting in Cape Town, South Africa. The 6‐week intervention was implemented by community health workers (CHWs) with 20 caregivers of preschool children. CHWs provided written feedback on intervention sessions, and two focus groups were conducted, one with the CHWs involved (n = 4) and another with caregivers (n = 6), to obtain their feedback on the intervention and its implementation. Data were collated according to themes relating to implementation. In this pilot study, training and recruitment proved feasible and were facilitated by partnership with a community‐based organization. Results: The intervention was generally implemented as intended, in terms of dose and delivery. Family support and active engagement of caregivers' preschool children in intervention activities were reported by CHWs and caregivers, and CHWs also reported mostly positive interactions with caregivers. CHWs and caregivers perceived the intervention to have benefits relating to the following: caregivers' awareness and knowledge of health behaviours, awareness of their role, changes in behaviours, and connection between the caregiver and child. The only change to the intervention suggested was the inclusion of some group sessions to promote support amongst intervention participants and sustain engagement in the intervention. Conclusions: The findings of this pilot study indicate that Amagugu Asakhula was both feasible and acceptable with caregivers of preschool children in a low‐income urban setting. Further research is needed to assess the extent to which this intervention has an objective and measurable effect on intended outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Making the Difference programme (MTDP), an education- and activity-based intervention for Grade 4 learners at primary schools in the Western Cape. Design: This was a cross-sectional, post-intervention survey of an existing programme, using control schools as a comparator. Setting and subjects: The study involved Western Cape primary schools in the 2009 school year. Schools were randomly sampled from two regions. Four intervention (active in the MTDP) and five control (non-participating) schools (n = 325 learners) were selected. Outcome measures: The following outcome measures were assessed using an administered questionnaire to learners: learners' knowledge of, attitudes towards, and behaviour in relation to nutrition and physical activity. Results: A small but significant improvement (eating vegetables and taking lunch boxes to school) was demonstrated with regard to self-reported behaviour in relation to nutrition in the intervention group. However, this behaviour was not explained by differences in barriers to healthy eating, self-efficacy or knowledge, which were not different between the groups, or by perceived social support, which was actually significantly increased in the control group. Groups displayed no differences in physical activity or sedentary behaviour. However, the results showed a significant difference between the groups in terms of a reduction in perceived barriers to physical activity and increased physical activity self-efficacy in the active group. Conclusion: While the MTDP only had a modest effect on the self-reported nutrition and physical activity behaviour of the learners, results regarding lower perceived barriers to physical activity and increased physical activity self-efficacy were promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive body fat is one of the main contributing factors in many health related health debilitating diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension and coronary arterioscleroses. The objective of this study was to determine whether a ten month physical activity intervention (PAI) programme could alter the body composition of 9-13 year old boys. A total of 322 (173=experimental group (EG) and 149=control group (CG)) from two primary schools in Gauteng province of South Africa were studied. Body composition measures were assessed by body mass index and percentage body fat using the protocol of International Society for Kinanthropometry (ISAK, 2001). Body mass index (BMI) which was calculated as body mass/stature² (kg/m²) was used to predict obesity. Percentage body fat was determined according to the formula developed by Slaughter, Lohman, Boileau, Horswill et al. (1988). Descriptive statistics, pre-test and post-test comparisons were done by dependent t-test using Statistica software. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05 and practical significant levels were set at ES ≥0.8. Slight decrease in percentage body fat was found among boys in the EG as compared to those the CG after the ten month of PAI. The CG showed a practical significant increase of 4.21 (pre-test =16.28; post-test =20.49) (ES ≥ 0.2) in percentage body fat. It was evident from these findings that the participation in the PAI had beneficial health outcomes. Therefore, strategies for the inclusion of physical activity programmes in schools and after-school community physical activity programmes are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]