Body Mass Index Change during and after the Childhood Obesity Prevention Program

Cho, Wook Je; Lee, Kayoung; Park, Tae Jin

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to find out the effect of school based obesity prevention intervention by considering the changes of BMI during both at the time of intervention and post-intervention.
METHODS
The research was conducted at an elementary school located in Busan metropolitan city, where we measured the height and weight of 260 students at baseline, 6 months after the initiation, and 6 months after the intervention. The students were classified into three weight groups of normal, overweight and obesity according to the age and sex-specific BMI.
RESULTS
The BMI decreased or maintained in 60% of the boys and 65% of the girls after the initial six months of the intervention, while after six months from the end of the intervention, BMI increased in 91% of the boys and 83% of the girls. The children's BMI significantly decreased during the intervention (P<0.01), whereas it significantly increased post intervention (P<0.05). In the logistic regression model including age, sex, initial BMI, and the follow-up status after the intervention, the increase of BMI by 1 unit was associated with 11% lower odds (95% CI 0.83~0.98) for BMI decrease and maintenance. Likewise, the increase of age by 1 year was associated with 24% lower odds (95% CI 0.59~0.98) for BMI decrease and maintenance. However, there was no significant predictors for BMI decrease and maintenance after the intervention.
CONCLUSION
As the positive effect of this intervention for children is not consistent, the research should be more focused in finding out the effective method for prevention of obesity among elementary school children, as a better solution in the longrun.