Effects of a School-Based Multicomponent Intervention on the Behavior and Anthropometry of Overweight and Obese Children Aged 10-13 Years-a Randomized Control Trial

Obesity is a growing concern in developing countries and is associated with significant mortality and morbidity in childhood. It is attributed to an interplay of environmental and genetic factors. There is a notable difficulty in addressing the various dimensions of managing obesity and hence a combination of interventions incorporating physical activity, education on healthy lifestyle and family involvement becomes a necessity. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a school-based multicomponent intervention (integrating health education, yoga, and parental involvement) on the anthropometric measures and healthy lifestyle behavior of obese and overweight children aged 10-13 years in Puducherry, India. The study included 120 overweight and obese children aged 10-13 years, in two randomly selected urban schools. The children were then randomized to intervention (60) and control (60) groups. The intervention group received health education classes, Yoga classes by certified yoga trainers and parental counseling for 3 months. The control group received routine counseling. Anthropometric measures such as body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and healthy lifestyle scoring in three domains (nutrition, physical activity levels, and screen time) were assessed pre- and post-intervention for both groups after 3 months. The intervention group showed significant reduction in BMI (p=0.017), WHR (p=0.003), and improvement in behavior scores of nutrition (p<0.001), physical activity (p<0.001), and reduced screen time (p<0.001) at 3 months post-intervention. No significant changes were observed in the control group on follow-up after 3 months. Thus, we conclude that a school-based multi faceted intervention is an effective program in combating childhood obesity. We recommend long-term follow-up studies on these interventions to discern the sustainable results of such interventions.