Fit for school: a school-based child healthy weight intervention reduces BMI-SDS scores in primary school students

Because obesity is associated with increased healthcare costs, a high
amount of adiposity in children is a major public health concern. BMI is a weight-for-height index that is used to assess fat levels, and BMI-SDS scores are used for children to ensure values across ages and gender are comparable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Fit for School, a Child Healthy Weight (CHW) intervention, in terms of BMI-SDS changes.

Primary school children in southwest Scotland participated in a
school-based 10-week intervention. The programme consisted of
parental engagement, healthy eating, physical activity, healthy lifestyle, and behaviour change components. Children’s height and weight were measured during the first and last weeks of the programme. Raw data was converted to BMI-SDS scores.

Significant reductions in BMI-SDS occurred in the severely obese,
combined severely obese and obese, combined severely obese, obese, and overweight, and the CHW target groups. No significant changes occurred in the underweight category. There were significantly more boys than girls in the CHW category before and after the intervention.

Fit for School is a short-term school-based intervention that has
proven to significantly reduce BMI-SDS scores in primary school
children with increased fat levels. Implementation of this programme in schools may help reduce excess adiposity in children which in turn may have a positive effect on healthcare costs associated with obesity.