Prevention of Obesity in School Children

¶ … 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 their academic performance (Hollar, Lombardo, Lopez-Mitnik, et al., 2010). More specifically, the interventions consisted of independent variables in the form of modified dietary choices in school, nutrition/lifestyle educational information to students and parents, physical activity, and general wellness projects. The pendent variables consisted of quantitative measurement of body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and measures of academic performance (Hollar, Lombardo, Lopez-Mitnik, et al., 2010).

Research Design and Methodology

The study involved providing students better nutritional choices in school, supplemental education on nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices, increased physical activity, and nutrition and health information distributed to parents. Since the unit of data analysis pertained to schools instead of individual subjects, the data analysis relied upon cluster randomization, according to which the mean response in relation to each variable was subject to both cluster-to-cluster analysis and individual-based analysis (Hollar, Lombardo, Lopez-Mitnik, et al., 2010).

Study Limitations

The principle limitation of the study was the fact that the interventions were only controlled in school and were not at all controlled outside of school either after school hours on weekdays, on weekends, during holidays, or over summer vacations. Another limitation was the fact that data collection may have been subject to inaccuracy because the study relied exclusively on measurements taken by non-healthcare professionals and in non-clinical settings. Finally, while the data collection employed averages of three measurements at each data collection period for each physiological variable, reliability was subject to measurement error and statistical variation (Hollar, Lombardo, Lopez-Mitnik, et al., 2010).

Results

The interventions corresponded to statistically significant improvements in all of the experimental variables (Hollar, Lombardo, Lopez-Mitnik, et al., 2010). More specifically, over the course of two years, the students in the four intervention schools exhibited health improvements as measured by blood pressure, BMI, and academic performance. Moreover, while the benefits were apparent across the entire population of students, low-income and minority students exhibited even more pronounced benefits than the entire population more generally (Hollar, Lombardo, Lopez-Mitnik, et al., 2010).

Relevance and Implications