Abstract
BackgroundChildhood obesity has become an alarming worldwide increasing public health problem. The earlier adiposity rebound occurs, the greater the risk of becoming obese during puberty and adolescence. It has been speculated about the potential influence of vigorous physical activity on modifying the age of onset of adiposity rebound. Moreover, studies aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of physical activity interventions programs on reducing adiposity and other cardiovascular risk factors in children younger than 6 years are scarce. This paper describes the rationale and methods of a study aimed to test the effectiveness of a two-years multidimensional pre-school intervention on preventing obesity and improving physical fitness during the adiposity rebound period.Methods/DesignTwenty-one schools from the provinces of Cuenca and Ciudad Real, Spain, were randomised to an intervention and a control arm. In the first academic year, children in third grade of pre-school and first grade of primary school in the intervention group received the physical activity intervention (MOVI-KIDS). After an academic year schools were crossed over to the alternative arm. According to the socio-ecological model, the intervention included children, their parents and teachers, and the school environment where MOVI-KIDS was conducted. MOVI-KIDS consisted of: i) three-h/week sessions of recreational non-competitive physical activity in after-school time; ii) educational materials to parents and teachers about physical activity benefits and sedentary lifestyle risks; and iii) modifications in the playground to promote physical activity during recess. Baseline and post-intervention outcomes are going to be measured in both arms three times, at the beginning and at the end of first academic year, and at the end of the second academic year. Primary outcomes included body mass index, waist circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, percentage of both body fat and fat-free mass, and blood pressure. Secondary end points were physical activity, fitness, and carotid intima-media thickness.DiscussionThis paper reports the design of a randomised cross-over cluster trial aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the multidimensional physical activity intervention (MOVI-KIDS) during two years in pre-school children.Trial registrationClinical trials.gov: NCT01971840. (Date of registration: Initial Release: 10/07/2013; Record Verification: 23/10/2013).
Highlights
Childhood obesity has become an alarming worldwide increasing public health problem
This paper reports the design of a randomised cross-over cluster trial aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the multidimensional physical activity intervention (MOVI-KIDS) during two years in pre-school children
This paper reports the rationale and methods of a trial to assess the effectiveness of a multidimensional Physical activity (PA) (MOVI-KIDS) promotion intervention in schoolchildren for preventing obesity, improving fitness, and reducing cardiovascular risk during the adiposity rebound period in children from 4-to-7 years of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)
Summary
Childhood obesity has become an alarming worldwide increasing public health problem. The earlier adiposity rebound occurs, the greater the risk of becoming obese during puberty and adolescence. It has been speculated about the potential influence of vigorous physical activity on modifying the age of onset of adiposity rebound. Studies aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of physical activity interventions programs on reducing adiposity and other cardiovascular risk factors in children younger than 6 years are scarce. Childhood obesity is one of the most important public health problems worldwide that in Spain is growing at alarming rate. The risk of obesity in children increases as earlier adiposity rebound occurs [7]. To physical fitness, obesity is negatively related to academic achievement, self-esteem, and healthrelated quality of life [11,12]
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