Effects Of A German School-based Overweight Prevention Program On Children`s Anthropometry: URMEL-ICE

Abstract

PURPOSE: To describe URMEL-ICE, a German school-based intervention for the prevention of overweight, and to report the effects on children's anthropometric measures. METHODS: A cluster randomised controlled design was used. The intervention was part of the regular curriculum of the second school year in primary school and focused on physical activity in and out of school, screen media time and soft drink consumption. It comprised 29 teaching lessons, 2 short exercise blocks per day and 6 family homework lessons. Body Mass Index (BMI) was assessed as primary outcome measure, waist circumference and skinfold thicknesses as secondary outcomes. Data of 945 children (16 intervention schools: N=495; 16 control schools: N=450) could be analysed. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant effect of the intervention on BMI, but on waist circumference (-0.85 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): -1.59 to -0.12) and on subscapular skinfold thickness (-0.64 (95% CI): -1.25 to -0.02)). After additional adjustment for individual time-lag between baseline and follow-up these effects were reduced in the total group to -0.60 (95% CI: -1.25 to 0.05) and -0.61 (-1.26 to 0.04), respectively. Stratified analyses revealed that children with high skinfold thickness as well as children without migration background and low maternal education benefited most from this intervention. CONCLUSION: This study contributes to the small number of randomised school-based overweight prevention studies and shows that within an intervention integrated into the regular curriculum no effect on BMI, but small effects on subscapular skinfold thickness and waist circumference can be achieved.