Methodologic Strategies to Be Used and Methods For Making The Selections

As discussed earlier, a randomized controlled study design has been chosen for the research. Therefore, one of the methodologic strategies key to this design is recruitment of the study subjects and randomization. The recruitment drive can be carried out in healthcare settings, communities, and schools, where children of school-going age and at risk of experiencing obesity can be found. After recruitment, the children can then be randomly assigned to either the control or intervention group (Berger et al.,2021). Using the randomization strategy helps minimize selection bias and ensure comparability between groups. As part of the research rules and guidelines, it will be important to obtain informed consent during the recruitment. The participants are minors; therefore, informed consent will be obtained from the parents or guardians to ensure they participate voluntarily and adhere to the ethical guidelines put in place for research where human subjects are involved. The research involved exploring the impact of physical activity; as such, it will also be vital to carry out a baseline assessment to help gather baseline data such as weight, height, and physical activity. These values will play a key role in determining the efficacy of the program by comparing the values obtained upon the use of the intervention (Friis & Sellers, 2021). The intervention will also be implemented as part of the methodologic aspects. Those in the intervention group would participate in the physical activity intervention while those randomized into the control group would only get a standard care. It will be important for healthcare professionals to supervise the physical activity sessions to ensure that the participants are doing the right thing. Data will also be collected throughout the intervention period to help in monitoring variations in the levels of physical activity and potential unintended consequences. The tools mentioned earlier will also be used to collect data on physical activity, which will then be combined with BMI measurements to determine the impact of the intervention. The follow-up assessment will also be accomplished at different points to measure changes in body weight and BMI. The selected approach has various strengths and limitations worth exploring. One of the approaches used in randomization. One of the strengths is that it ensures that each subject has an equal chance of being in either of the groups, hence minimizing selection bias. On the other hand, the limitation is that it is ethically challenging to randomize particular individuals who could have pre-existing conditions (Friis & Sellers, 2021). Recruiting the participants was another strategy. Participants are to be recruited from diverse settings with increasing the generalizability of the findings. The limitation is that it may end up in low participation rates. Ethical Considerations Pertaining to The Study There are various ethical considerations pertaining to this study. The research involved human beings. Therefore, informed consent should be obtained from the parents or guardians. The other one is privacy and confidentiality as the patient’s personal information should be safeguarded by securely storing sensitive information and blocking any unauthorized access. It is also important to ensure that there is equitable access and participation to help prevent coercion or exploitation and promote social justice (Friis & Sellers, 2021). Conclusion This assignment has focused on epidemiological study designs. The research has explored childhood obesity with a randomized controlled study design chosen as the suitable design. Besides, the write-up has explored preferred methodology, methods, and their strengths and weaknesses. References Berger, V. W., Bour, L. J., Carter, K., Chipman, J. J., Everett, C. C., Heussen, N., … & Randomization Innovative Design Scientific Working Group Robert A Beckman. (2021). A roadmap to using randomization in clinical trials. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21, 1–24. Doi: 10.1186/s12874-021-01303-z Bülbül, S. (2020). Exercise in the treatment of childhood obesity. Turkish Archives of Pediatrics, 55(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.14744%2FTurkPediatriArs.2019.60430 Ferguson, T., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Blake, H., Crozier, A. J., Dankiw, K., … & Maher, C. (2022). Effectiveness of wearable activity trackers to increase physical activity and improve health: a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The Lancet Digital Health, 4(8), e615-e626. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00111-X Friis, R. H., & Sellers, T. A. (2021). Epidemiology for public health practice (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett. Merrill, R. M. (2024). Introduction to epidemiology. Jones & Bartlett Learning