Grant: Prize - IHDCYH Talks

Exercise Messengers is an animated research video that describes the effects of exercise on bone health in children. This video is intended for elementary school-aged children and is designed to promote physical activity by describing the physiological effects of exercise on bone health in an age-appropriate manner. The setting of the video takes place in a classroom during science period, where three children named Mai, Arjun, and PJ engage in a thought-provoking conversation about bones with their science teacher, Ms. Z. They begin by asking how exercise makes them grow, after which Ms. Z explains the role that exercise plays in bone growth. The children also learn about the importance of exercise-induced molecules, which Ms. Z refers to as exercise messengers, in relaying messages from different organs in the body to cells that are found in bone tissue. These cells, called osteoblasts and osteoclasts, respond to these messages by breaking down and forming new bone tissue, all of which contributes to the growth of bone. Ms. Z also emphasizes to the children the importance of engaging in an active life style so that exercise messengers and bone cells continue to work together to build healthier and stronger bones. By the end of the lesson, the children are motivated to move and suggest to play a game of tag, inviting Ms. Z to play along with them. Exercise Messengers was created as an end-of-grant knowledge translation chapter of a doctoral thesis project, which investigates the effects of exercise on physiological regulators of bone in children and adults. The development of this video at a graduate level exemplifies the prioritization of knowledge translation initiatives at the early stage of knowledge generation. Furthermore, it builds a generation of researchers who prioritize public interest throughout all stages of their work, which leads to improved child and family health outcomes across the country.