Evaluation of Skipping Rope and Informational Pamphlet Among Adolescents in South Africa

Adolescence is a key period of life during which important physical and psychosocial changes happen. With adolescents comprising about 16% of the world population and 23% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), it is critical to address their health needs to ensure their present wellbeing, as well as healthier trajectories across the life course. One of the most important aspects of a healthy lifestyle during adolescence is physical activity. Regular physical activity improves several physical and mental health outcomes among adolescents. This includes improving muscular strength and flexibility, bone mass, cardiovascular health, lung function, and reducing the risk of obesity and related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes or heart diseases. Additionally, physical activity can improve energy levels, mood, sleep, academic attainment, and social behavior, and it provides an opportunity to connect with peers, by reducing feelings of isolation and fostering friendships.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adolescents do at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day, incorporating vigorous-intensity aerobic activities at least three days a week, and limiting the amount of time spent being sedentary. Despite this, research found that adolescents in SSA tend to be largely inactive, with about 82-90% of adolescents reporting low physical activity levels. Similarly, studies suggest that a large proportion of adolescents in South Africa does not meet the physical activity recommendations, with about 93% of males and 95% of females reporting a decrease in physical activity outside of school or sports clubs over adolescence, compared to childhood, and with only 50% of children and adolescents meeting the recommended one hour of MVPA per day.

Skipping, or jumping rope, is a type of physical activity practiced among adolescents across the world. It requires a simple rope and involves the simultaneous rotation of arms and vertical jumping. Skipping rope is an ideal way to promote physical activity among adolescents in South Africa, as it is an easy-to-implement, whole body exercise that has been associated with increased cardiorespiratory fitness and improved bone density. Providing education on the importance of physical activity and instructions on how to skip rope, in addition to the rope itself, can help increase awareness about the benefits of being active and skipping rope, and can help adolescents develop physical activity skills. While there is substantial evidence for short-term positive effects of skipping rope and of successful implementation in schools, there is limited evidence on long-term effects and on implementation in community settings outside of school. Additionally, to the investigators' knowledge, there is limited evidence on skipping rope interventions for adolescents in South Africa.

To address these gaps, the investigators propose to implement a parallel arm randomized controlled trial (1:1 allocation) to promote physical activity among adolescents aged 10-14 years in a community setting in South Africa. This trial will focus on the provision of a skipping rope and informational pamphlet on physical activity and examine their impact on measures of physical activity intentions and behaviors among adolescents over 12 months from baseline. The trial, described in this protocol, will be nested within the Design and Evaluation of Adolescent Health Interventions and Policies (DASH) project, aimed at boosting adolescent health in the SSA region through rigorous population-based intervention and policy research. The DASH project involves the establishment of a cohort of adolescents and young adults, who will be followed up over four waves of data collection in four years. The trial is not invasive.

For the intervention group, the provision of rope and informational pamphlet will happen during the participant interview within the overall DASH cohort study. The fieldworker conducting the survey interview will provide each participant in the intervention group with a rope and pamphlet and will read a short script explaining how to use the rope, outlining the benefits of physical activity for adolescents, and asking participants to read the pamphlet in their own time. The control group will not receive any intervention.