Kelly Mackintosh edited introduction.tex  over 10 years ago

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\section{Introduction}   It is well established that peadiatric obesity is associated with numerous health implications in later life \cite{Freedman2007}. Despite evidence to suggest that the prevalence of obesity has plateaued in recent years with within  the UK \cite{Boddy2010} and internationally \cite{Rokholm2010}, there is no evidence of a decline, and a high proportion of children remain at risk of morbidity. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour are key variables implicated in childhood obesity due to their influence on energy balance \cite{Rowland2004}. Current physical activity guidelines recommend children between 5 and 18 years of age to engage in at least 60 minutes moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day \cite{DOH2011}. Despite this, children, on average, are insufficiently active \cite{Hills2011} and engage in excessive sedentary behaviour. Specifically, only 41 percent of boys and 30 percent of girls in Wales meet these recommended guidelines\footnote{http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/young-people-key-facts/index.html}. Moreover, according to the Department of Health, more than 30 percent of 5 to 12 year old children in the UK are obese, with Wales leading at 36 percent\footnote{http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/04/obesityfacts/}. Many interventions have been conducted to reverse childhood overweight and obesity, employing a variety of strategies to enhance levels of habitual physical activity and reduce time spent in sedentary behaviours. Schools have been identified as a key context to implement such physical activity promoting interventions, given that children on average spend 40 percent of their waking time there \cite{Fox2004}. Despite this, school-based interventions have been conducted with varied success \cite{Summerbell2005}, which could be attributed to the different intervention strategies and variable methodological quality, such as lack of objective measurements of physical activity \cite{Mountjoy2011}. Furthermore, interventions targeting reduced sedentary behaviour tend to discourage highly valued behaviours, such as engagement with technology. LINK TO COMPUTER SCIENCE INTERVENTIONS…