VERB™ Summer Scorecard: Increasing Tween Girls' Vigorous Physical Activity

OBJECTIVE: We assessed changes in the frequency of self-reported physical activity (PA) among tween girls exposed and not exposed to the VERB™ Summer Scorecard (VSS) intervention in Lexington, Kentucky, during 2004, 2006, and 2007. METHODS: Girls who reported 0-1day per week of PA were classified as having little or no PA. Girls who reported 2-3days of PA were classified as low PA performers; 4-5days of PA were labeled as moderate performers; and 6-7days of PA were identified as high performers. Logit regression analysis of survey data from girls identified trends in PA frequency across time. RESULTS: In 2004, participant girls were more likely than girls unfamiliar with VSS (reference group girls) to report high frequency of PA (OR=1.44, CI=1.18, 1.70). In 2006, participants were statistically less likely than reference group girls to report low frequency of PA (OR=1.75, CI=1.33, 2.21). In 2007, VSS participants were consistently more likely to report moderate frequency (OR=1.56, CI=1.35, 1.77) and high frequency of PA (OR=1.44, CI=1.24, 1.64) than reference group girls. CONCLUSION: An innovative, community-driven intervention demonstrated promise for increasing PA among tween girls. VSS may have transportability to other communities to help reverse the secular trend of declining PA for this population segment.