Peer-reviewed article
Physical activity and healthy nutrition campaign for primary school children in developing countries: implementation of the build our kids' success (BOKS) program in Indonesia.
Mahendra A, Triwibowo H, Simbizi P, Rajagukguk M, Anira et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001The Build Our Kids' Success (BOKS) program delivered 12 weeks of structured physical activity and nutrition education to 382 primary school children in urban Jakarta and rural East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia. Children participated in nine core physical activities led by trained teachers. The program significantly increased the percentage of children meeting WHO physical activity recommendations and average daily activity time, with improvements seen in both urban and rural settings.
Key points
- Percentage of children meeting WHO physical activity recommendations increased from 64.1% to 83.8%
- Average daily physical activity increased from 107.09 minutes to 136.23 minutes
- Urban schools showed greater gains in WHO adherence; rural schools maintained higher baseline activity levels
- Nutrition knowledge reached statistical significance
- Perceived environmental support changes were not statistically significant
Limitations
The study had no comparison group and only measured outcomes at pre- and post-intervention over 12 weeks, so we cannot determine what would have happened without the program or whether effects persist. The document does not report on longer-term follow-up or implementation fidelity across all schools.
Abstract
Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the implementation and outcomes of the Build Our Kids' Success (BOKS) program in Indonesia, conducted in urban Jakarta and rural East Nusa Tenggara (ENT). The program, funded by Sun Life, was carried out to enhance children's physical activity levels and nutritional knowledge as part of an intervention to address inactivity among children. Methods A total of 382 primary school students, comprising 132 from urban and 250 from rural settings, participated in a 12-week BOKS program, consisting of nine core physical activities such as running, burpees, and jumping jacks, led by trained physical education teachers. Quantitative analysis was conducted to assess the proportion of children meeting the World Health Organization's (WHO) physical activity recommendations, average daily minutes of physical activity, perceived environmental support, and nutrition knowledge. Data were collected pre- and post-intervention using adapted standardized instruments. Paired t-tests were conducted to determine significant changes. Results The results showed that the percentage of children meeting WHO physical activity recommendations significantly increased from 64.1% to 83.8%, accompanied by a rise in average daily physical activity from 107.09 minutes to 136.23 minutes. Improvements were observed in both settings, with urban schools showing greater gains in WHO adherence, while rural maintained higher baseline activity levels. Changes in perceived environmental support were not statistically significant, whereas nutrition knowledge reached statistical significance. Conclusion The BOKS program effectively improved physical activity levels among Indonesian primary school children in both urban and rural settings. These results supported the integration of structured physical activity and nutrition education into school curricula as a strategy to combat children's inactivity and promote healthy lifestyles in low-resource settings.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Build Our Kids' Success (BOKS) program: 12-week school-based program with nine core physical activities (running, burpees, jumping jacks) and nutrition education led by trained physical education teachers
- Population
- 382 primary school students (132 urban Jakarta, 250 rural East Nusa Tenggara), Indonesia
Key finding
Children meeting WHO physical activity recommendations increased from 64.1% to 83.8% (19.7 percentage point increase)