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Insights Nutr Metab 2017
Volume 1 Issue 3
Nutrition World 2017
Page 73
September 11-12, 2017 Edinburgh, Scotland
15
th
World Congress on
Advances in Nutrition, Food Science & Technology
Insights Nutr Metab 2017
Effectiveness of a 16-month multi-component
and environmental school-based intervention
for recovery of poor income overweight/obese
children and adolescents: Study protocol of
The Health Multipliers Program
Pollyanna Fernandes Patriota, Andrea Filgueiras, Maria Paula de
Albuquerque, Semiramis Domene and Ana Lydia Sawaya
Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil
E
xcess of weight is a serious public health problem in
almost all countries afflicting people from different ages
and socioeconomic levels. Studies have indicated the
need for developing strategies of treatment that intervene
directly in the obesogenic environment. This study aims
to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component and
environmental school-based intervention, lasting 16
months, for the recovery of the nutritional status of low-
income children and adolescents with overweight/ obesity.
Methods/ Study design The study is conducted by the
Center for Recovery and Nutritional Education (CREN) in
the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Two schools located in poor
neighborhoods were selected for the intervention. The
intervention duration is from March 2016 to June 2017.
The participants are 791 students aged 8 to 12 that make
up the universe of students of this age in the two schools.
At the beginning of the intervention anthropometric
measurements were carried out to assess nutritional
status. One school was chosen for convenience to be
the control group and the other to be the experimental
group. The intervention of the experimental group (n =
438) consists of the following weekly activities at school:
psychological counseling in groups, theoretical/practical
nutrition workshops and supervised physical education
classes. In addition, theoretical and practical educational
activities are held regularly for parents, teachers and
cooks. Students with excess of weight (>1 BMI –for-
age Z score, n = 138) underwent clinical and nutritional
care periodically in outpatient care at CREN. Students
enrolled in the control group (n = 353) participated
in psychological counseling groups and theoretical/
practical nutrition workshops for 6 months that took place
in the school environment with the whole classroom for
motivational purpose. In the following 10 months the
students with excess of weight from the control group (n
= 125) were invited to attend the routine outpatient care
at CREN. Discussion:This study is the first to assess the
effectiveness of a multi-component and environmental
school-based intervention for the recovery of low-income
overweight/obese children and adolescents. If positive,
the results will demonstrate the feasibility for the recovery
of excess of weight in populations in similar conditions
and age.
pollypatriota2@gmail.com