title: 'FIFA 11 for Health' for Europe. 1: effect on health knowledge and well-being of 10- to 12-year-old Danish school children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To modify the 'FIFA 11 for Health' programme to the European situation, and to assess its effects on health knowledge and well-being in Danish school children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A two-cohort study with seven intervention and two control schools. Of the 546 Danish children (boys 269; girls 277) of mean age 11.1 (±0.4) years from five city and four country-side schools, 402 undertook the 'FIFA 11 for Health' programme and 144 acted as controls. As part of each school's PE curriculum, seven intervention schools received a 45 min Play Football period (football skills and 3 vs 3 games) and a 45 min Play Fair period (health issues and football drills) on a weekly-basis for 11 weeks. Control participants continued with their regular school PE activities. Participants completed preintervention and postintervention health knowledge and well-being questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, health knowledge increase was significantly (p<0.05) greater for the intervention group (11.9%) than the control group (2.6%). Significant (p<0.05) between-group differences were obtained for 8 of 10 health topics (6.1-20.2%) related to physical activity, nutrition, hygiene and well-being. The social dimension of the well-being questionnaire was significantly (p<0.05) improved in the intervention group compared to the control group, but there were no significant between-group effects for the physical, emotional and school dimensions. Positive reporting about the programme was given by 72.4% of the children and only 4.8% reported negatively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 'FIFA 11 for Health' programme modified for Europe demonstrated positive effects on children's health knowledge and social dimension of well-being, thereby providing evidence that the football-based health education programme can be used effectively within a European school's curriculum to increase physical activity, well-being and health knowledge.
authors.affiliation: Colin Fuller Consultancy Ltd, Sutton Bonington, UK.
authors.forename: Colin W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ørntoft
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Malte Nejst
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Elbe
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ottesen
authors.affiliation: FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre, Zurich, Switzerland.|Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Junge
authors.affiliation: FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre, Zurich, Switzerland.|Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dvorak
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Sport and Health Sciences, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krustrup
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010806:Physical Education and Training / Q000379:methods*; D012574:Schools; D012916:Soccer; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Food intake; Football; Health; Non-communicable disease; Physical activity