Abstract
Background:
Studies of school-based anti-obesity interventions have yielded inconsistent results. Using growth screening data from a school administrative database, we re-evaluated an obesity prevention strategy that was previously reported to have a beneficial effect on weight status of a sample of students in grades 5–7.
Methods:
Ten K-8 schools (five control and five intervention) participated in a 2-year cluster-randomized trial of a multi-component nutrition education intervention. We obtained student height and weight data for 6 consecutive school years and imputed missing baseline and follow-up measurements (53% and 55%, respectively) and defined the target population based on the intent-to-treat principle. We analyzed changes in body mass index (BMI) Z-scores via mixed-effects linear regression and in the prevalence of overweight/obesity via conditional logistic regression. We also assessed incidence and remission of overweight/obesity and long-term effects.
Results:
We analyzed data for 8186 (96%) K-8 students in the 10 schools (4511 in intervention; 3675 in control). From baseline to the end of the intervention period, mean increases in BMI Z-score were 0.10 and 0.09 in the control and intervention groups, respectively (P=0.671). The prevalence of overweight/obesity increased by 3% in both groups (P=0.926). There was no significant intervention effect on the incidence or remission of overweight/obesity. Among 5469 students who attended study schools during both years of the intervention, there was no significant intervention effect. Furthermore, there was no long-term effect among students with up to 2 years of data beyond the end of the intervention.
Conclusion:
Using routinely collected data for the entire target population, we failed to confirm earlier findings of an intervention effect observed in a subset of students in grades 5–7. Volunteer bias in the prior evaluation and/or measurement error in the routinely collected data are potential reasons for the discrepant findings.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wake M, Canterford L, Patton GC, Hesketh K, Hardy P, Williams J et al. Comorbidities of overweight/obesity experienced in adolescence: longitudinal study. Arch Dis Child 2010; 95: 162–168.
Bell LM, Byrne S, Thompson A, Ratnam N, Blair E, Bulsara M et al. Increasing body mass index z-score is continuously associated with complications of overweight in children, even in the healthy weight range. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007; 92: 517–522.
Freedman DS, Dietz WH, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS . The relation of overweight to cardiovascular risk factors among children and adolescents: the bogalusa heart study. Pediatrics 1999; 103: 1175–1182.
Hampl SE, Carroll CA, Simon SD, Sharma V . Resource utilization and expenditures for overweight and obese children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007; 161: 11–14.
Estabrooks PA, Shetterly S . The prevalence and health care use of overweight children in an integrated health care system. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007; 161: 222–227.
Fontaine KR, Redden DT, Wang C, Westfall AO, Allison DB . Years of life lost due to obesity. JAMA 2003; 289: 187–193.
Narayan KMV, Boyle JP, Thompson TJ, Sorensen SW, Williamson DF . Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the united states. JAMA 2003; 290: 1884–1890.
Kvaavik E, Tell GS, Klepp KI . Predictors and tracking of body mass index from adolescence into adulthood: follow-up of 18 to 20 years in the Oslo Youth Study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2003; 157: 1212–1218.
Whitaker RC, Wright JA, Pepe MS, Seidel KD, Dietz WH . Predicting obesity in young adulthood from childhood and parental obesity. N Engl J Med 1997; 337: 869–873.
Bao W, Srinivasan SR, Wattigney WA, Berenson GS . Persistence of multiple cardiovascular risk clustering related to syndrome X from childhood to young adulthood. The Bogalusa Heart Study. Arch Intern Med 1994; 154: 1842–1847.
Juonala M, Magnussen CG, Berenson GS, Venn A, Burns TL, Sabin MA et al. Childhood adiposity, adult adiposity, and cardiovascular risk factors. N Engl J Med 2011; 365: 1876–1885.
Yeung EH, Zhang C, Louis GM, Willett WC, Hu FB . Childhood size and life course weight characteristics in association with the risk of incident type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2010; 33: 1364–1369.
Gortmaker SL, Peterson K, Wiecha J, Sobol AM, Dixit S, Fox MK et al. Reducing obesity via a school-based interdisciplinary intervention among youth: Planet Health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999; 153: 409–418.
Berenson GS, Arbeit ML, Hunter SM, Johnson CC, Nicklas TA . Cardiovascular health promotion for elementary school children. The heart smart program. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1991; 623: 299–313.
Katz DL, O'Connell M, Njike VY, Yeh MC, Nawaz H . Strategies for the prevention and control of obesity in the school setting: systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Obes 2008; 32: 1780–1789.
Kropski JA, Keckley PH, Jensen GL . School-based obesity prevention programs: An evidence-based review. Obesity 2008; 16: 1009–1018.
Nader PR, Stone EJ, Lytle LA, Perry CL, Osganian SK, Kelder S et al. Three-year maintenance of improved diet and physical activity: the CATCH cohort. Child and adolescent trial for cardiovascular health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999; 153: 695–704.
Katz DL . School-based interventions for health promotion and weight control: not just waiting on the world to change. Annu Rev Public Health 2009; 30: 253–272.
Caballero B, Clay T, Davis SM, Ethelbah B, Rock BH, Lohman T et al. Pathways: a school-based, randomized controlled trial for the prevention of obesity in American Indian schoolchildren. Am J Clin Nutr 2003; 78: 1030–1038.
Luepker RV, Perry CL, McKinlay SM, Nader PR, Parcel GS, Stone EJ et al. Outcomes of a field trial to improve children's dietary patterns and physical activity. The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health. CATCH collaborative group. JAMA 1996; 275: 768–776.
Sallis JF, McKenzie TL, Alcaraz JE, Kolody B, Hovell MF, Nader PR . Project SPARK. Effects of physical education on adiposity in children. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1993; 699: 127–136.
Sallis JF, McKenzie TL, Conway TL, Elder JP, Prochaska JJ, Brown M et al. Environmental interventions for eating and physical activity: a randomized controlled trial in middle schools. Am J Prev Med 2003; 24: 209–217.
Foster GD, Linder B, Baranowski T, Cooper DM, Goldberg L, Harrell JS et al. A school-based intervention for diabetes risk reduction. N Engl J Med 2010; 363: 443–453.
Foster GD, Sherman S, Borradaile KE, Grundy KM, Vander Veur SS, Nachmani J et al. A policy-based school intervention to prevent overweight and obesity. Pediatrics 2008; 121: e794–e802.
Gortmaker SL, Cheung LW, Peterson KE, Chomitz G, Cradle JH, Dart H et al. Impact of a school-based interdisciplinary intervention on diet and physical activity among urban primary school children: eat well and keep moving. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999; 153: 975–983.
Economos CD, Hyatt RR, Goldberg JP, Must A, Naumova EN, Collins JJ et al. A community intervention reduces BMI z-score in children: shape up somerville first year results. Obesity 2007; 15: 1325–1336.
Comprehensive School Nutrition Policy Task Force. Comprehensive School Nutrition Policy. Philadelphia, PA, 2002.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Growth Charts. CDC: Atlanta, GA.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A SAS Program for the CDC Growth Charts. CDC: Atlanta, GA.
Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Guo SS, Grummer-Strawn LM, Flegal KM, Mei Z et al2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States: methods and development. Vital Health Stat 11 2002; 1–18.
Rubin DB . Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: New York, 1987.
Schafer JL . Analysis Of Incomplete Multivariate Data. Chapman & Hall: London, UK, 1997.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant from The Thrasher Research Fund. We also acknowledge the help and cooperation of the School District of Philadelphia and of Dr Gary D Foster, who provided key information about the intervention. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Thomas Jefferson University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rappaport, E., Daskalakis, C. & Sendecki, J. Using routinely collected growth data to assess a school-based obesity prevention strategy. Int J Obes 37, 79–85 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2012.126
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2012.126
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between childhood overweight and obesity and primary school diet and physical activity policies
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2013)