Effectiveness of a school-based intervention to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 7–11 years from Poznań (Poland)

ABSTRACT Background: Childhood obesity remains a serious nutritional problem in both developed and developing countries. The prevalence of school-age children with obesity has increased more than ten times, from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016. One of the efforts to overcome the increase in childhood obesity is providing school-based intervention. This study aimed to estimate the effect of a school-based intervention to reduce the risk of obesity in children according to data from primary studies. Subjects and Method: This was a meta analysis and systematic review. Studies published from 2007 to 2018 were collected from Google Scholar, PubMed, BMJ, ScienceDirect, BMC, and Sage databases. Keywords used (preschool OR school) AND (intervention OR program OR prevention) AND (“children obesity” OR “children overweight”) AND “randomized control trials”. The inclusion criteria were full text, in English language, using randomized controlled trial study design, and reporting risk ratio. The selected articles were analyzed by PRISMA guideline and Revman 5.3. Results: 8 studies from China (3), Meksiko, United States (2), Portugal, and German showed that school-based intervention reduced the risk of obesity in children (RR= 0.91; CI 95%= 0.84 to 0.99; p=0.040) with (I2=35%; p=0.150). Conclusion: School-based intervention can reduce the risk of obesity in children. Keywords: school-based intervention, obesity, children Correspondence: Riftiani Nikmatul Nurlaili. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: [email protected]. Mobile: 085746737137. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.03.126

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The Boss’ Healthy Buddies Nutrition Resource Is Effective for Elementary School Students

Journal of Obesity ◽

10.1155/2018/4659874 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David W. Pittman ◽

Ida R. Bland ◽

Isai D. Cabrera ◽

Kassie E. Franck ◽

Emily L. Perkins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Elementary School ◽

South Carolina ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Elementary School Students ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

School Students ◽

School Based Intervention ◽

School Based ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity

Previously we have shown that our Healthy Eating Decisions school-based intervention can influence students’ selections of the healthiest foods available in their elementary school cafeterias through positive reinforcement techniques. Although effective, we recognized that students were missing fundamental nutrition knowledge necessary to understand why the Healthy Eating Decisions program identified particular beverages and foods as the healthiest in the cafeteria. Therefore, we developed the Boss’ Healthy Buddies nutrition education resource as a freely available curriculum matched with South Carolina education standards and designed for elementary school students from kindergarten through fourth grade. The current study implemented Boss’ Healthy Buddies and compared its efficacy to a commercially available nutrition program, CATCH. Elementary school students in Spartanburg, South Carolina, received weekly twenty-minute Boss’ Healthy Buddies lessons for eight weeks. Results from preassessment and postassessment surveys were compared with a positive control elementary school using the CATCH program and a negative control school receiving no nutrition education. Results show that Boss’ Healthy Buddies was equally effective as the CATCH program in improving the nutrition attitudes regarding healthiest beverages and food selections with the advantage of being freely available and minimizing the impact on classroom instruction time. In order to reduce most effectively the high prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, it is crucial that children are taught nutrition education to support healthy eating habits at an early age. Both the Healthy Eating Decisions school-based intervention and the Boss’ Healthy Buddies nutrition education program are available online for use as free resources to aid in reducing childhood overweight and obesity within elementary schools.

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