Physical activity and healthy nutrition campaign for primary school children in developing countries: implementation of the build our kids’ success (BOKS) program in Indonesia

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the implementation and outcomes of the Build Our Kids' Success (BOKS) program in Indonesia, conducted in urban Jakarta and rural East Nusa Tenggara (ENT). The program, funded by Sun Life, was carried out to enhance children's physical activity levels and nutritional knowledge as part of an intervention to address inactivity among children. METHODS: A total of 382 primary school students, comprising 132 from urban and 250 from rural settings, participated in a 12-week BOKS program, consisting of nine core physical activities such as running, burpees, and jumping jacks, led by trained physical education teachers. Quantitative analysis was conducted to assess the proportion of children meeting the World Health Organization's (WHO) physical activity recommendations, average daily minutes of physical activity, perceived environmental support, and nutrition knowledge. Data were collected pre- and post-intervention using adapted standardized instruments. Paired t-tests were conducted to determine significant changes. RESULTS: The results showed that the percentage of children meeting WHO physical activity recommendations significantly increased from 64.1% to 83.8%, accompanied by a rise in average daily physical activity from 107.09 minutes to 136.23 minutes. Improvements were observed in both settings, with urban schools showing greater gains in WHO adherence, while rural maintained higher baseline activity levels. Changes in perceived environmental support were not statistically significant, whereas nutrition knowledge reached statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The BOKS program effectively improved physical activity levels among Indonesian primary school children in both urban and rural settings. These results supported the integration of structured physical activity and nutrition education into school curricula as a strategy to combat children's inactivity and promote healthy lifestyles in low-resource settings.