Skip to main content

Table 3 Overview of goals, initial ideas, change objectives and the developed intervention activities

From: Co-designing obesity prevention interventions together with children: intervention mapping meets youth-led participatory action research

Goals retrieved from performance objectives

Initial ideas that were voted for

Examples of related change objectives on the children’s level

Intervention activities and implementation status

Children always eat a healthy (amount of) breakfast in the morning before they go to school

Create a lesson series on what a healthy breakfast is and combine it with quiz elements, then children will like it more and remember the message (school 1, 2, 3)

Children know different kinds of healthy breakfast

Children recognize that peers have a healthy breakfast

Children have positive feelings towards a healthy breakfast

Cooking workshops (implementation plan in Additional file 3): at first of a duration of 1 month, then they were taken over by a community partner who organizes it throughout the year

Quiz at school (once) and regularly recurring at after-school activities

Children eat less unhealthy snacks at school

Organize a competition at school where you can win a prize if you take healthy snacks and lunch to school (every month a different prize) (school 2)

Children describe what healthy snacks are

Children describe the importance of eating enough fruits and vegetables every day

Children recognize that peers eat fruits and vegetables during breaks

Healthy snacks and lunch competition at school during 3 months

Cooking workshops: at first of a duration of 1 month, then they were taken over by a community partner who organizes it throughout the year

Children drink only water at school

Create a water fountain at the school playground where you can always drink water during and after school (school 1, 3)

Start a policy at school that children can only drink water (school 3)

Children recognize that peers only drink water at school

It is a habit that everybody has a water bottle with them

Children demonstrate how they can make water taste better (e.g. by adding fruits)

Water fountain installed at one school, together with a policy that children can only drink water at school (school 3)

Children drink tea without sugar

Create a lesson series where children learn to drink tea without sugar, then they will get used to it and like it (school 1)

Children acknowledge that tea with sugar is not healthy

Children demonstrate how they can make tea taste better, without adding sugar

Children demonstrate the confidence that they can break tea drinking habits

Cooking workshops: at first of a duration of 1 month, then they were taken over by a community partner who organizes it throughout the year

More children play outside (actively)

Make playgrounds with equipment suitable for children of different ages and teach children active games that they can play there (school 1, 3)

Children describe active games that they can play

Children demonstrate different kinds of active games that they can play at a playground

Children recognize that peers play fun active games outside

The local government adjusted several already existing playgrounds

After school activities were organized for 4 months where children learned new active games that they could play

In after-school activities of this project and also of community partners, more focus was placed on active games that children themselves could play without a lot of extra materials

More girls participate in after-school sports activities

Organize more girls-only activities, and ask girls what kind of activities they like (school 1, 2)

Girls recognize that physical activity is important

Girls see other girls having fun in sports activities

Girls have positive feelings towards the activities that are organized for them

A weekly girls-only activity was started for the duration of 2 years

Children participate in sports activities of their own preference

Let children themselves co-organize activities and make sure there are good coaches to supervise, so they will like it more (school 1, 2, 3)

Children know the sports activity that they prefer

Children demonstrate confidence in participating in sports activities independent of their friends

Children like participating in sports activities (that they have organized)

The Olympic sports event consists of yearly after-school sports activities followed by a sports tournament for the four schools in the community (implementation plan in Additional file 2)

Children co-organized all intervention activities

In after-school activities of this project and also of community partners, the aim was to give children a positive sports experience

In after-school activities of this project and also of community partners, children could co-decide on the activities that were offered

Less children are behind a screen after school (computer, television, phone)

Organize more after-school sports activities and events so children are stimulated to play outside (school 1, 2)

Children describe the advantages of playing outside over screen time

Children acknowledge that screen activities are for the late afternoon/evening

Children perceive that peers are not behind a screen after school

After-school sports activities were organized during 4 months where children learned new active games that they could play

In after-school sport activities of this project and also of community partners, more focus was placed on activities that children themselves could play without a lot of extra materials

The Olympic sports event consists of yearly after-school sports activities followed by a sports tournament for the four schools in the community (implementation plan in Additional file 2)