Table 2 Population, intervention, and results of included studies

Anderson-Butcher et al., 2019 [16]

• 375 campers:

mean age of

11.3 years old

• 1 camp

• The LiFEsports Initiative (PA)

• 19 days

• Enhance self-control, effort, teamwork, and social responsibility (S.E.T.S.)

• 15 h of social competence curriculum focused on S.E.T.S., five hours of

sports instruction, and five hours of a healthy lifestyle behaviors curriculum

• Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance: ⬆

• Physical activity self-efficacy scores: ⬆

• Support for health and fitness intentions from

parents and staff: ⬆ (Physical activity self-

efficacy and health and fitness intentions)

• PA self-efficacy: Parent and staff

support, and Pre-camp PA self-

efficacy were significant and

positive predictors of the post-

camp score. The positive effect

of support from staff tended to

increase in magnitude as the

degree of support from the

parents increased

Baranowski et al., 2003 [21]

• 35 campers:

mean age of 8

years old

• 1 camp

• Fun, Food, and Fitness Project (PA + HE)

• 12-week intervention (4-week in camp and 8-week Internet (web programs))

• Increase PA, enhance social support, involve the parent, increase camper

exposure to PA + provide them with a pedometer to self-monitor PA + 

encourage to consume more FV and 100% fruit juice (FJV), and drink water

• The camp program: buddy groups, camp cheers, problem solving, dance,

educational games, snack preparation, and goal setting

• The web programs: a comic book and PA goals, problem solving, review of

attainment of previous week’s goal, a photo album of girls from the camp, an

“ask the expert” feature, and links to various websites of interest to girls

• PA measures: ∅

• Total calories: ⬇

• % calories from fat: ⬇

• Consumption of FJV: ⬆

• Servings of sweetened beverages: ⬇

• Servings of water: ⬆

• PA preference: ∅

• Sweetened beverages preference: ∅

NA

Beets et al., 2007 [22]

• 17 campers

• 1 camp

• The Culinary Camp Summer Cooking Program (HE)

• Eight days, with sessions lasting four hours

• Emphasized development of autonomy, active participation in the selection,

preparation, and consumption of regional and culturally diverse food

• The program involved the development of culinary skills and discussions

regarding the types of foods, the difficulties encountered, and the modifications

made to the recipe

• Cooking behaviors: ∅

• knowledge (nutrition): ⬆

• Perceived cooking ability: ⬆

• Negative attitudes: ⬇ (trend)

NA

Beets et al., 2014 [23]

• 550 campers: 6-

12 years old,

mean age of

7.8 years old

• 48 – 60

counsellors

• 4 camps

• Healthy lunchbox challenge (HE)

• 11-week schedule throughout the summer with parents enrolling their children

in a camp for one week

• One training at the beginning of each intervention summer (45 min) for SDC

directors and staff (healthy eating promotion)

• Support (weekly communications + resolve implementation errors)

• A point system was developed where children could earn up points per day

• Parents received HLC materials designed to influence decisions of foods/

beverages purchased for SDC

• FV consumption: ⬆ (by summer 2013)

• Water consumption: ∅

• Unhealthy foods/beverages (soda/pop, non

100% juice, chips, and fast food): ⬇

• FV counsellors’ consumption: ∅

• Unhealthy foods/beverages

(counsellors): ⬇

• Staff promoting healthy eating

and educating children about

healthy eating: ⬆

• Staff consuming inappropriate

foods and drinks in front of

campers: ⬆

Bohnert et al., 2017 [24]

• 64 campers: 10-

14 years old,

mean age of

11.9 years old

• 1 camp

• Girls in the Game (PA + HE)

• Four weeks, six hours of structured activities each day (three 50-min morning

sessions (i.e., two sports-based PA lessons and one health/leadership activity), a

40-min lunch break, 60 min of pool time, 45 min of team PA, as well as an

additional 10-min snack break)

• Each session provided instruction and PA through a variety of sports and fitness

activities

• 5-min MVPA bouts/day: ⬆ (1.68)

• Additional minutes/day spent in 5-min MVPA

bouts: ⬆

• Sedentary time: ⬇ (2 h and 29 min/day)

• Total calories and fat consumed: ∅

• Fruit consumption: ⬆ (1.19 servings/day)

• Dairy consumption: ⬇ (0.75 servings/day)

• Sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages

consumption: ⬇ (trend)

NA

Brazendale et al., 2020 [25]

• 3524 campers:

 ≤ 12 years old

• 20 camps

• Turn up the healthy eating and activity time (HEAT) (PA)

• Duration of the program (NA), 10 SDCs received two summers of the PA

intervention and 10 SDCs received a single summer (2017)

• Camp leaders and staff receive training to expand, extend, and enhance PA

opportunities (i.e., a single 90-min professional development training

session and a 30-min discussion on strategies to address challenges observed

with increasing children's PA)

• Two on-site booster sessions (Walkthrough of the SDC and discussion to

address challenges observed with increasing children’s MVPA)

• Intervention for 2 years versus 1 year: ∅

• Likelihood of meeting the 60 min/d MVPA: ∅

(boys or girls)

• Girls and boys were 3.5 and 3.7 times more

likely to meet the 60 min/d guidelines during

intervention summers versus follow-up,

respectively

• An average of 5 SDCs enhanced

physical activity opportunities

during intervention summers

vs. baseline by increasing their

LET US Play Index score

• Comparing follow-up to

baseline, 8 SDCs (4 immediate

intervention, 4 delayed

intervention) increased their LET

US Play Index score

Condrasky et al., 2015 [26]

• 56 campers: 10-

14 years old

• 2 camps

• The Cook Like a Chef program (HE)

• Two comparable samples, 5 or 20 interactive culinary nutrition sessions

• The 1-week model: demonstration and nutrition discussion + an hour of cook

time + The campers tasted recipes of the day in a shared meal + a quick healthy

snack demo at the end of each day

• The 4-week model: a shared breakfast meal + a 10-min walk to the Family

and Consumer Sciences foods lab + a nutrition lesson and a cooking

demonstration + three hours of cooking time + shared lunch + a variety of

physical activities and afternoon healthy snacks. The camp also included field

trips to a Whole Foods Grocery Store and the Louisiana Food History Museum

• Nutrition knowledge, cooking skills, and

motivation and confidence to prepare healthy

meals and snacks: ⬆ (1- and 4-week models)

• Food safety scores: ∅ (for or between the 1-

and the 4-week camps)

• Food nutrients and sources scores: ∅ (for the

1- and the 4-week camps)

NA

Ehrenberg et al., 2019 [27]

• 17 campers: 6–8

years old, mean

age of 7.1 years

old

• 1 camp

• Mini-Chefs (HE)

• Biweekly hands-on cooking program for six weeks

• Children were exposed to each of the four target foods (bell peppers, tomatoes,

cantaloupe, and nectarines) five times across nine different snacks that they

made with the help of study staff and ate together as a class

• During each exposure session, children worked together to follow the day’s

recipe and assemble the snack, using child-safe knives to cut the fruits and

vegetables. Once complete, each child was given a serving of the prepared

snack, and children sat together at classroom tables to eat

• Preferences for target foods (tomatoes, bell

peppers, cantaloupe, and nectarines): ⬆

• Preferences for target vegetables and target

fruits separately: ∅

• Initial liking of the target foods did not predict

whether or not children increased their

preferences for them from pre-test to post-test

NA

Gachupin et al., 2019 [17]

• 187 campers: 7-

11 years old,

mean age of

8.5 years old

• 4 camps

• The Healthy 2B Me summer camp (PA + HE)

• Eight hours, two-week-long (2013), or three week-long sessions (2014–2016)

• Educate and empower through knowledge, attitude, and behavior changes + 

increase parental involvement in supporting healthy behaviors in their children

• Focused on nutrition (ex. food labeling education, healthy guidelines, etc.), PA,

hand washing, smoking, sun safety or kindness, lessons were interactive and

interspersed with PA (60 min + per day)

• PA knowledge: ⬆

• Attitude toward PA: ⬆

• MVPA every day: ⬆

• Nutrition knowledge (FV serving sizes): ⬆

• Attitudes toward FV: ⬆

NA

Harmon et al., 2015 [28]

• 30 campers: 9-

12 years old

• 20 completed

qualitative

interviews

• 1 camp

• Culinary Skills Training (HE)

• Four culinary skills training sessions (one hour, once per week)

• Each session focused on teaching culinary skills (i.e., knife skills, measuring,

safe handling of food, and types of cooking methods) and incorporating whole

grains, fruits, and vegetables into each recipe via a hands-on approach

• Participants were given take-home assignments (i.e., additional recipes to make

at home and an evening meal journal for their parents to complete) and

“coupons” to share with their parents

• Attitude: ⬆ (not significant)

• Liking to cook and the belief that fruits and

vegetables are important: ∅

• Perceived cooking skills and abilities: ⬆

• Meaningful changes were not

seen in the food environment

(questionnaire)

Heim et al., 2009 [29]

• 93 campers: 8-

11 years old,

mean age of

9.7 years old

• 1 camp

• The Delicious and Nutritious Garden (HE)

• 12-week summer camp (children signed up for camp on a weekly basis)

• Beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, okra,

onions, peppers, radishes, strawberries, Swiss chard, summer squash, tomatoes,

zucchini, and herbs were planted by children in the first and second weeks of

the intervention. Children also learned to weed, observe, and harvest their

garden. Garden-based activities included learning about the origins of food,

plant parts, nutrient needs of humans and plants, environmental stewardship,

MyPyramid for Kids, goal setting, and role-playing

• The children prepared a dozen healthful snacks with produce from their garden,

including two snacks for younger campers to promote peer modeling of fruit

and vegetable intake. They all received a cookbook containing recipes for the

FV they taste-tested and prepared throughout the intervention

• Parents/primary caregivers were encouraged to improve FV availability and

accessibility through weekly newsletters, recipes, and take-home activities

• Number of fruits and vegetables ever eaten: ⬆

• Vegetable preferences: ⬆

• Fruit preferences: ∅ (high)

• Snack preferences: ∅

• Self-efficacy to consume FV: ∅

• Child asking behavior: ⬆

NA

Jacob et al., 2020 [20]

• 101 campers: 8-

12 years old

• 2 camps

• The Chefs in Action program (HE)

• One 30-min workshop was held per week for 3 weeks

• Promote the pleasure and importance of healthy eating, support the

development of cooking skills, and expose children to a variety of foods

• A demonstration of the recipe was first performed. The demonstration and

explanation were repeated for each step so that the children could individually

follow and prepare their own recipe simultaneously. Afterward, children were

invited to taste their recipe and have a group discussion on healthy eating

• In the intervention group, children participated in three cooking workshops that

included three recipes. One workshop was held per week for three weeks. The

comparison groups 1–3 conducted one workshop

• Cooking skills: ∅

• Nutrition knowledge: ⬆ (intervention group

and comparison group 3)

NA

Kimiecik et al., 2021 [18]

• 35 campers: 13-

15 years old

• 9 completed

qualitative

interviews

• 1 camp

• The Learning in Fitness and Education through Sports (LiFEsports) (PA)

• Over four weeks, nine sport-based and healthy lifestyle activities (e.g., soccer,

basketball) led by trained recreational sports leaders for four hours each day + 

daily classroom-based social skills curriculum called “Chalk Talk” for one hour

• Staff and older youth encourage younger youth to reflect on their use of

S.E.T.S. during the camp and ask youth to verbalize ways to transfer each skill

to other areas of their lives at the end of every sports session

• Healthy lifestyles, social competence, and

social sports experience: ∅ (⬆ non-

significant)

• Healthy lifestyles: ⬆ (Girls)

NA

Lawman et al., 2019 [30]

• 2 586 Campers:

3–19 years old

• 28 camps

• The Hydrate Philly Intervention (HE)

• Seven to nine months

• Replacing old and unappealing water fountains with appealing water-bottle-

filling “hydration stations” (one or two per site)

• Distribution of reusable water bottles to each camper and some staff

• A campaign to promote the acceptability of tap water, brief training for

recreation center staff, a game the sites could use to encourage water

consumption, and parent handouts was implemented at intervention sites

• Staff training included behavioral and social strategies for staff to discourage

SSB consumption and encourage water consumption

• Half-page flyers in English and Spanish were distributed to families of youth

attending summer programming at sites

• Water use: ⬆

• Reusable bottle counts: ⬆

• Youth carrying SSBs at camp: ∅

• Staff’s past 30-day SSB consumption

frequency: ⬇

• Maintenance problems: ⬇ (trend)

NA

Mabary-Olsen et al., 2015 [31]

• 74 campers: 9-

14 years old &

16–18 years old

• 2 camps

• Wellness Camp—Summer 4-H camps (HE)

• Three weeks

• Intervention campers received two to three hours of experiential learning in

gardening, culinary, and nutrition each morning

• Each experience included a hands-on learning activity followed by a discussion

to reflect (share and process) and apply (generalize and apply) their

observations to similar/different situations

• Intervention weeks also had lunch menus tailored to incorporate vegetables

harvested from the garden and prepared during the culinary lessons (i.e.,

homemade salsa for tacos)

• Youth in the intervention also received a take-home kit intended to influence

the home environment

• Nutrition knowledge: ⬆ (trend) (from baseline

to 6 months post-camp)

• Most preferred home environment: ⬆ (trend

between the control and intervention at 6

months post-camp)

• Most and least preferred home food

environment: ⬆ (intervention)

• Campers' self-efficacy and overall FV

preferences: ⬆ (trend)(intervention)

• Consumption of spinach and bell peppers: ⬆

(trend)

• Consumption of zucchini: ⬆

NA

Maxwell et al., 2018 [32]

• 50 campers

• 1 camp

• Eating Veggies Is Fun! (HE)

• Daily for two weeks

• The intervention consisted of repeated tasting only of the initially disliked

vegetables (i.e., Jicama, red bell pepper, mushroom, zucchini, and sugar snap

pea) because the fruits were uniformly liked

• Plates with small pieces of these five initially disliked target vegetables were

offered to all participating children in a group setting

• Liking the 5 targeted vegetables: ⬆

• Liking the 7 nontargeted vegetables: ∅

• Liking jicama: ⬆

• Liking the nontargeted vegetable celery: ⬇

• Liking to try new foods and accessibility to

and consumption of FV “yesterday”: ∅

• Liking any of the vegetables examined singly

and how much children reported liking to try

new foods: ∅

• Consumption of fruits and vegetables

“yesterday”: ∅

NA

Murad et al., 2021 [33]

• 17 campers

• 1 camp

• Farm to Future (HE)

• One week on Google Meets

• Develop cooking skills, provide hands-on experience cooking simple meals and

snacks, educate about a balanced diet, educate about sustainable cooking and

eating, and provide daily physical activities

• Included a daily nutrition or cooking lesson (i.e., basic nutrition topics such as

food and knife safety, fermentation, and dairy foods), preparation of both a

lunch and afternoon snack recipe, one or two recorded physical activity

sessions, and a cooking activity to demonstrate food science principles

• Parents were advised to be close by to help

• Better at cooking: ⬆

• Better at trying new foods: ⬆

• Confident they can make more sustainable

food choices: ⬆

• Food literacy: ∅ (nine pre- and post-survey)

• Most participants reported liking interacting

with other children and being able to cook a

real meal, not just desserts, to feed themselves

and their families

NA

Reverter-Masia et al., 2012 [19]

• 102 campers

• 1 camp

• Healthy lifestyle guide pyramid (PA + HE)

• Two sessions of 50 min (presentation, debate, and conclusions)

• The pyramid has faces oriented towards achieving goal; daily food intake, daily

activities, traditional food guide pyramid adapted to children’s and adolescents’

energy, nutritional and hydration needs, daily and lifelong habits, and health

• The role of the instructor varied depending on the stage of each session:

describing the pyramid, arguing, and explaining its contents, moderating and

dynamizing the debates, focusing one’s attention on specific aspects, asking

questions and conceptualizing answers

• All children were handed out photocopies of the “Healthy lifestyle guide

pyramid” to talk about it with their parents

• Intake of whole milk, cold meats, and sweet

things: ⬇

• Fruit and cereal consumption: ⬆ (after the

first intervention, not maintained)

• Consumption of butter and nuts: ∅

• Most participants reported liking interacting

with other children and being able to cook a

real meal to feed themselves and their families

• Physical activity: ⬆ (short-and long-term)

• Hours of television exposure: ⬇ (both groups,

long-term)

NA

Seal & Seal 2011 [34]

• 18 campers: 8-

12 years old

• 10 camps

• Wellness Summer Camp (WSC) (PA + HE)

• 10 days, from 8 am to 4 pm

• Trained camp counsellors worked with the children in small groups (four to five

children per group); therefore, each child received age-appropriate

interventions and individualized attention

• The PA: physical education that promoted lifelong PA

• The nutrition: nutrition education (emphasized a diet rich in vegetables, fruits,

unsaturated fats, and whole grains and low in saturated fat and sugar)

• Nutrition knowledge (i.e., healthy foods and

healthy snacks): ⬆

• Knowledge of physical activity: ⬆ (Short-

term positive effects)

• Eating behaviors: ⬆ (Short-term positive

effects)

• PA: ∅

• Self-perception of competence: ⬆ (Short-term

positive effects)

NA

Tauriello et al., 2020 [35]

• 23 campers: 6–8

years old

• 1 camp

• (HE)

• 1 h, taste exposures during recurrent morning programming + participation

in a series of three group games

• The repeated exposure classroom received only individual taste exposures to

their target vegetable

• Preferences for target vegetables: ⬆ (both

groups)

NA

Tilley et al., 2014 [36]

• 1977 campers

• 241 counsellors

• 4 camps

• The “Healthy-Lunchbox- Challenge” (HE)

• 11-week SDC program

• Parent and staff education: Healthy eating education materials included a

description of the HLC mission and procedures, a “Building a Better

Lunchbox” guide

• Child and staff incentive program to influence parental decisions of foods and

beverages purchased for SDC. Points were tallied by SDC staff. Prizes were

awarded to groups with the highest points at the end of each week

• FV and water brought to SDC: ⬆

• Chips and non-100% fruit juices brought to

SDC: ⬇

• FV brought to SDC by staff: ⬆

• Water brought to SDC by staff:

⬇ (not statistically significant)

• Chips brought to SDC by staff:

⬇

• Soda brought to SDC by staff: ⬇

(trend)

Warner et al., 2021 [37]

• 45 campers: 6-

10 years old

• 30 counsellors

• 1 camp

• Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment LaunchPad (PA)

• Two weeks (nine days), from 8:30 am to 4:00 PM

• Program was delivered at a large SFD facility that offers free programming to

youth facing barriers to a positive development

• Used fundamental of movement skills (FMS) activities, sport-specific activities,

and games of low organization to develop physical literacy. Rotations of

activities including supervised free play, snack-times, low-organization games,

active play in small groups, and sports

• Overall FMS: ⬆ (boys > girls)

• Self-perceptions of PL (competence,

confidence, motivation, and knowledge): ⬆

(boys > girls)

• A high staff-to-youth ratio with

well-trained, caring leaders

ensured a consistent presence of

nurturing adults

• The inclusion of "Leaders in

Training" as part of the staff

team provided an element of

peer mentoring to youth

participants, who saw themselves

reflected in the demographics of

these staff

Weaver, Beets, Saunders et al., 2014 [38]

• ~ 800 campers

daily: under 12

years old

• ~ 300

counsellors

• 4 camps

• (PA)

• Four days a week/eight weeks

• Professional development training, workshops, and weekly feedback and self-

evaluation

• Six on-site booster trainings (reinforce HEPA promotion strategies and

principles LET US Play covered in the 5Ms trainings)

• SDCs were structured with a variety of activities including free-play

opportunities; organized games, water-based activities, and enrichment

activities such as arts & crafts

• % of children physically active: ⬆ (boys,

during overall PA opportunities/ girls, during

organized activities)

• % of children sedentary: ⬇ (boys and girls,

especially during organized activity)

• Not all changes reached statistical significance

(sedentary behavior and MVPA depending on

the school level)

• HEPA promoting staff behaviors:

⬆

• HEPA discouraging staff

behaviors: ⬇

Weaver, Beets, Turner-McGrievy et al., 2014 [39]

• 600 campers

• 120 counsellors

• 4 camps

• (PA)

• Four days a week/eight weeks

• A daylong (eight hours) training occurred each year in May followed by a PA

training session which lasted approximately 90 min

• A workshop on schedule modification and weekly feedback from the evaluation

team were also offered

• Nine, two-hour on-site booster training sessions were offered in the two

intervention summers (6x/2012 and 4x/2013) (real-time feedback and

suggestions aligned with the training focusing on modifying games to enhance

child PA, managing PA environments effectively, and modeling and

encouraging child PA)

• % of sedentary children: ⬇

• % boys engaged in MVPA: ⬆

• % girls engaged in MVPA: ⬆

• All these changes in MVPA reached statistical

significance except for the children in grades 4

and 5

• Promoting children's PA: ⬆

Weaver et al., 2017 [40]

• 1 830 campers:

5–12 years old

• 20 camps

• Turn up the healthy eating and activity time (HEAT) (PA)

• Five days a week/eight weeks

• Camp leaders and staff receive training to expand, extend, and enhance

PA opportunities (i.e., a single 90-min professional development

training session and a 30-min discussion on strategies to address

challenges observed with increasing children's PA)

• Two on-site booster sessions (Walkthrough of the SDC and discussion

to address challenges observed with increasing children’s MVPA)

• Campers meeting the 60 min/day MVPA

guideline: ⬆

• Results indicate that the STEPs

intervention SDCs were

successful in extending and

enhancing PA opportunities

compared to control SDCs

• Yet, there was no evidence to

suggest they expand PA

opportunities when compared to

control SDCs

Werner et al., 2012 [41]

• 760 campers: 6-

9 years old

• Active Generations (PA + SB + HE)

• Ten lessons

• Obesity prevention program with a focus on nutrition education and PA

• Utilizes older adult volunteers to implement the program meant to increase PA

participation, inform on nutrition and food labels, and decrease sedentary time

• FV consumption post-program: ⬆

• Nutrition knowledge: ⬆

• Likely to read food labels: ⬆

• Confidence in participating in PA: ⬆

• Daily screen time: ⬇

NA

Williams et al., 2019 [42]

• 15 campers: 7-

15 years old

• 1 camp

• Child-focused cooking curriculum (HE)

• Daily, during seven weeks

• Twice per day, a 10-min lesson on a given recipe

• Recipes were chosen to fit the balanced plate and cover general nutrition topics

in an age-appropriate manner

• Staff would assist in preparation for younger groups, and let older groups create

the recipe with minimal assistance. While they ate, leaders reviewed key

aspects of the recipe that were healthy and how it fits into the balanced plate

• Children overwhelmingly enjoyed the cooking

camp and discussed it extensively with their

parents at home

• Almost all tried to replicate recipes at home

NA

Wilson et al., 2017 [43]

• 88 campers: 5-

11 years old,

mean age of

7.8 years old

• 1 camp

• Goal setting at summer camp (PA)

• Four weeks

• The goal-setting programs differed each week; campers set individual goals,

small group goals, and then a camp-wide goal

• Individual goal; each child set their own step count goal

• Group goal; campers are placed into small groups every week at camp led by a

counsellor. Each group set a collective group step count goal

• Camp-wide goal; the entire camp set a collective step count goal

• Feedback was provided at the end of every camp day based on goal setting

• Step counts: ⬆ (individual and camp-wide

goal setting)

• Enjoyment: ⬆ (group and camp-wide goal

setting)

• Boys found to be more physically active than

girls

• Older campers enjoyed PA less

NA