The Danish “11 for Health” program raises health knowledge, well-being, and fitness in ethnic minority 10- to 12-year-olds

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of the health promotion intervention “11 for Health in Denmark” program on 10- to 12-year-old ethnic minority schoolchildren's enjoyment, health knowledge, well-being, and fitness. Methods: 1122 Danish 5th grade schoolchildren with ethnic minority background from 154 schools were randomized (5:1) to an intervention group (IG, n = 944) or a control group (CG, n = 178). The IG and CG were also divided into subgroups of children active in a sports club (IGPA: n = 644; CGPA: n = 122) and not active in a sports club (IGPI: n = 300, CGPI: n = 56). IG participated in the “11 for Health in Denmark” 11-week program, consisting of 2 × 45 min per week of football drills, small-sided games, and health education, whereas CG continued their regular activities. Pre-post physical testing and questionnaires were applied (short version of the multidimensional well-being questionnaire KIDSCREEN-27, and a 34-item health knowledge questionnaire). Results: The “11 for Health in Denmark” program was rated moderate-to-high on a 1–5 scale for enjoyment by girls (3.57) and boys (3.65). The intervention had positive between-group effect on health knowledge in relation to hygiene (IG vs GC: 10.6% points (CI95%: 6.9:14.3), p < 0.05), nutrition (9.6% point (CI95%: 7.4:11.8), p < 0.01) and physical activity 4.4% points (CI95%: 2.2:6.6) as well as overall health knowledge (5.7% points, (CI95%: 4.3;7.1), p < 0.05), with similar effects for girls and boys. The IGPI subgroup showed a positive effect on well-being (p = 0.04, school and learning) and also fitness effects on performance and VO₂ max (p = 0.02: p = 0.01). The IGPA subgroup showed a positive effect on fitness scores (p = 0.02, BMI). Conclusion: The intervention program was enjoyable and had a positive impact on health knowledge of ethnic minority background schoolchildren. In addition, the intervention program had the strongest positive effects on well-being and fitness scores for the non-sports club-active children.