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Childhood Obesity Intervention
Since the early 1980s childhood obesity has increased three-fold and during the 2005-2006 school year an estimated 16% of American children were obese (reviewed by Gleason and Dodd, 2009). Childhood obesity and weight problems predispose a child to physical and behavioral problems that can extend into their adult years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010) and for this reason health researchers and educators are attempting to curb this epidemic.
K-12 schools provide between 35% and 47% of a child's daily nutritional requirements (reviewed by Gleason and Dodd, 2009), providing an opportunity to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity the United States. Towards this goal a coalition of nutrition and educational researchers conducted a 2-year pilot study to test the efficacy of a broad-based intervention strategy targeting obesity in 3,769 children attending grades 1-6 in a public school district in central Florida (Hollar...
During this longitudinal, prospective, cohort study the intervention combined improvements in the quality of the food available in schools, by doubling the fiber content and reducing fat by 23%, supplying nutritional and lifestyle educational classes, increasing opportunities for physical activity, and instituting school-based wellness projects. Of the five schools involved in the pilot study one was chosen by the school district administrators to function as a control. The demographics of the intervention and control schools did not vary significantly, although there was a < 20% difference in the number of Hispanic and White children.
Results and Interpretation
During the first year of the study a 1.46 reduction in BMI (body mass index) was observed for children attending intervention schools, but this was not statistically significant because during the same period the control schoolchildren also lost weight (-0.95 BMI). BMI is a method used to…
Another primary outcome measure was academic performance, as measured by the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). A number of studies have found an association between being overweight or obese and poorer K-12 academic performance (Roberts, Freed, and McCarthy, 2010), which could be related to the psychological problems that accompany this condition (Krukowski et al., 2009). In support of this association, children attending intervention schools experienced a significant improvement in their math scores (p = 0.0005). Reading scores trended towards significance (p = 0.08).
Summary and Critique
A comprehensive program to reduce the prevalence of obesity in school-aged children was shown to be effective in this pilot study. Enhanced BMI reductions were observed and
Participants will be recruited with announcements in local newspapers and school newsletters. Flyers are posted in the nurse's offices and in the clinic. Response cards will be given to parents who indicate an interest in participating in the study. See the participation invitation -- Appendix 1. Materials Once enrolled, participants will answer a series of questions related to food choices, influences, physical activities and food and beverage advertisements. The first measure
Obesity in Children Birth to 18 Years-of-Age From Lower Socio-Economic Status Compared to Children Birth to 18 Years-of-Age From Upper and Middle Socio-Economic Status? Research Proposal Research indicates that children from lower socio-economic status are more likely than children from higher socio-economic status to develop childhood obesity, which makes these children more likely to develop health problems later in life. For this reason, childhood obesity is a significant problem. The
Childhood Obesity Obesity in Americans has been a topic of debate over the last decade. Americans are among the most obese people in the world. Obesity causes a variety of health problems that cost American billions each year. In recent years there has also been an increase in obesity in children. The purpose of this discussion is to investigate obesity in children. The discussion will focus on poor eating habits and
Focus Group Results to Inform Preschool Childhood Obesity Prevention Programming and Developing a Coordinated School Health Approach to Child Obesity Prevention in Rural Appalachia: Results of Focus Groups with Teachers, Parents and Students These research projects, conducted by McGarvey et. al (2006) and Schetzina et. al (2009) respectively, use focus groups to promote healthy weight and improved health status in children. The McGarvey study recruited volunteers from WIC clinics in
quasi-experimental quantitative study on the topic of childhood obesity. The topic of the research was a comprehensive approach to nutritional improvement in a pilot study involving four schools in which interventions were implemented and a fifth school used for experimental control. The interventions consisted of a holistic elementary school-based obesity prevention program intended to keep children at a normal, healthy weight, and to improve their overall health status and
Obesity in Children Obesity is a growing problem in America with more than 64% of the U.S. adult population identified to be clinically obese or overweight. It is estimated that there are more than 300,000 deaths every year which are directly attributed to obesity. [CDC]. It would not be far fetching to say that obesity has in fact assumed epidemic proportions and is one of the fastest growing healthcare problems of