"PoZdro!" as an example of a successful multicenter programme for obesity management and healthy lifestyle promotion in children and adolescents - programme protocol and preliminary results from the first intervention site.

Abstract

Overweight and obesity rates in children and adolescents increase worldwide for over 30 years, what leads to an increased risk of de-veloping metabolic diseases. Protocol description and preliminary results of the largest to-date obesity management programme for children in Poland - "PoZdro!" The Programme is based on three main steps: screening, parental engagement and long-term behavioral intervention (medical, dietetic, psychological, physical activity intervention panels) and education activities in secondary schools. Over 30.000 children were screened in four big Polish cities and over 2.000 engaged in the programme. Preliminary results from the first city show that, since 2014, 3998 of the 6346 (63%) eligible students from 24 schools (first grade of the secondary school) were screened. 16% of the children were overweight (body mass index - BMI ≥ 85th < 95th centile) and 4.7% were obese (BMI ≥95th centile). 603 children fulfilling the qualification (QUA) criteria (BMI > 90th centile) were offered the Individual Integrated Care (IIC). 470 (77.94% of QUA) began and 253 (41.96% of QUA, 53.82% of IIC) finished the full interventional pro-gramme with the mean BMI centile decrease of 3.04 in two following years. "PoZdro!" is a unique obesity prevention and management programme in Poland operating simultaneously in several Polish big cities. The programme incorporates parental engagement and long-term behavioral intervention. Preliminary results show that it may result in meaningful decrease in BMI in two following years. Further data analyses are necessary to show the influence of the programme on metabolic risk in studied group.