Prevention of Obesity in School Children

¶ … focus-group surveys of teachers, parents, and students on issues related to their perceptions and school policy on the healthcare topics of nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention. Data collection relied on focus groups that consisted of all of those community stakeholders. Those data indicated that the subjects surveyed though that childhood obesity is an important concern and that they supported the increased involvement of local schools in efforts to improve the diet and increase the physical activity levels of students. More specifically, the data indicated that the subjects believe that students should have increased access to more nutritious foods and drinks as well as more opportunities for physical exercise. The data also revealed students' concerns that academic pressure, limited opportunities, and lack of family support for beneficial behavioral changes pose barriers to optimal achievement of those beneficial goals (Schetzina, Dalton, Lowe, et al., 2009).

Research Design and Methodology

Focus groups were created by inviting all students, teachers, and parents to participate and by providing a $10 payment incentive to participants. The focus groups were moderated by a physician and a nurse. The participants were given the opportunity to express their views and concerns about eight specific healthcare issues affecting obesity in the school setting: nutrition services, physical education, health services, health education, counseling/psychological/social services, family/community involvement, and health promotion (Schetzina, Dalton, Lowe, et al., 2009).

Data Analysis and Limitations

Data analysis employed a systematic approach intended to preserve the reliability and validity of the data (Schetzina, Dalton, Lowe, et al., 2009). Focus group sessions were audio-taped that were subsequently transcripted. Transcripts were reviewed and independently coded by the moderators for the purpose of identifying specific themes such as perceptions about school nutrition and physical activity, the connection between school behavior and academic performance, and perceptions about childhood obesity and interventions in the form of dietetic changes and physical activity. The independent coding by the moderators was followed by consensus coding to accurately characterize the data. The primary limitation of the study was its reliance exclusively on a small sample size from a single rural setting. The other principal limitation was the potential bias of the participants who agreed to be part of the study (Schetzina, Dalton, Lowe, et al., 2009) since they might already represent a subset of the larger population with different concerns or no specific concerns in the areas studied at all.

Results and Relevance

According to the data, all of the stakeholders recognized the importance of improving nutrition in schools and of increasing the availability of physical fitness activities (Schetzina, Dalton, Lowe, et al., 2009). Those issues are highly relevant to human health by virtue of the fact that almost forty percent of children are overweight, that nearly half of those are clinically obese, and that obesity in childhood is empirically lined to adult obesity and a wide range of negative health consequences. However, the data also revealed significant differences among different stakeholder groups (Schetzina, Dalton, Lowe, et al., 2009). For example, parents expressed the view that students lacked the ability to make better nutritional choices without assistance and they were as concerned that students ate enough as they were about the quality of their nutritional choices. Meanwhile, students expressed awareness that they often knowingly selected non-nutritious foods. All stakeholders agreed that physical activity is important but the data revealed that some teachers withhold opportunities to participate as a form of punishment for bad behavior (Schetzina, Dalton, Lowe, et al., 2009). The general implications of the study are that stakeholders share a general awareness of the importance of the issues but that better education for all stakeholders is essential to establishing a more meaningful awareness and knowledge of possible approaches to addressing childhood obesity in the school setting.