Project Director: Robert McDermott, PhD
Project Co-Directors: Carol Bryant, PhD, Rita Debate, PhD
Location: Hillsborough County, Florida

The USF Colleges of Education and Public Health worked cooperatively to implement the Florida Childhood Obesity Prevention Project (FCOP). USF faculty have experience working on a variety of obesity prevention projects. Two promising physical activity promotion interventions were selected for tailoring, implementation, and evaluation during 2008-2009. These are:

• VERB^TM Summer Scorecard
• Technology Based Physical Activity: EXERGAMING

The FCOP 2008-2009 objectives were to:

1. use community based prevention marketing to reposition and rebrand the VERB Summer Scorecard intervention for promoting physical activity among 3rd to 5th graders in Hillsborough County, Florida;
2. use community based prevention marketing to implement the tailored Scorecard intervention for promoting physical activity among 3rd to 5th graders in Hillsborough County, Florida;
3. evaluate the tailored VERB Summer Scorecard intervention for promoting physical activity among 3rd to 5th graders in Hillsborough County, Florida;
4. establish a school “exergaming” environment in an elementary school (K – 5th grade) setting in Hillsborough County, Florida;
5. implement an age-appropriate curriculum for the exergaming center and conduct curricular program throughout the 2008-09 school year;
6. evaluate “exergaming program effectiveness to increase student participation in daily physical activity by recording social, cognitive, behavioral, physiological outcomes of 3rd to 5th graders in Hillsborough County, Florida.