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Effects of a school‐based pediatric obesity prevention program
Author(s) -
Palcic Jennette L,
Johnston Craig A,
ElMubasher Abeer A.,
Woehler Deborah L,
Foreyt John P.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.731.4
Subject(s) - percentile , medicine , obesity , curriculum , childhood obesity , randomized controlled trial , physical therapy , repeated measures design , gerontology , family medicine , overweight , psychology , mathematics , pedagogy , statistics
The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a school‐based pediatric obesity program for elementary children. Children (n = 782) were between the ages of 7 and 9 and in the 2nd grade. A total of 323 (189 males) children who exceeded the 85th percentile for BMI were randomized into an integrated health curriculum (IHC) or treatment as usual (TAU) condition. The IHC condition (n= 187) received nutrition education that included lifestyle change techniques provided by their classroom teacher. The teacher was provided with a trained instructor to assist with the integration of health materials into their classes. The TAU condition (n= 136) received a typical health and physical education class. Repeated Measures ANOVA was used to evaluate weight changes between the groups using standardized BMIs from baseline to 2 years. Children in the IHC condition significantly reduced their BMI zscore when compared to the children in the TAU condition as demonstrated by a significant time by condition interaction effect (F = 8.08, p = .005). This study suggests that an integrated health program supported by trained professionals is a promising approach for school‐based pediatric obesity prevention. This project was funded by a grant from the Oliver Foundation.