Effect of a Multidisciplinary Intervention to Reduce Rates of Overweight and Obesity in School-Aged Children of Tabasco, Mexico

Purpose:

To assess the effect of a multidisciplinary intervention to reduce rates of overweight and obesity in school-aged children of Tabasco, Mexico.

Methods:

A quasi-experimental design was performed with pre-test and post-test measurements. The population was represented by school-aged children with overweight and obesity and their mothers. The sample size was determined by an unrestricted random sampling using a significance level of .05 and a power of .90 and large effect size, the sample was 39 subjects. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0, the data was compared with the pre and post intervention measurement, the effectiveness of the intervention was determined by student's t-test. The level of statistical significance accepted was < .05.

Results: The main findings on weight reduction were: t (38) = 6.15, p <.01; waist circumference: t (38) = 2.80, p <.01; and glucose values: t (38) = -6.60, p <.01; the weight of school-aged children, waist circumference and glucose levels decreased after participating in the educational program intervention on nutrition, health care and physical activity, with significant differences between pre-test and post-test measurements. The intervention was three months with four sessions per week; two educational sessions and two sessions of physical activity.

Behavioral changes were observed for dietary habits after participating in the educational program intervention: on water consumption, the results showed more children consume wáter with a frequency of 3-4 glasses a day; also more children not consume bottled soda (46.2%), consumption of fried foods also showed a significant change,  46.2% consumed only 2 times per week; mirlinton was one of the least consumed foods by children, after the intervention we observed that decreased number of children who not consume mirlinton (15.4%) and mayonnaise that was one of the most consumed foods was reduced after the intervention the number of children who ate this food almost daily was also reduced 5.1%.

Conclusion: The findings of this study support the conclusion that it is possible to modify the rates of overweight and obesity through a multidisciplinary intervention with educational component on nutritional aspects of health care and physical activity. The benefits gained in weight, waist circumference and blood glucose levels and behavioral changes on food consumption generally can confirm that multidisciplinary intervention was helpful in reducing rates of overweight and obesity school-aged children. These changes if the behavior remains have positive consequences for preventing the development of obesity-related diseases, such as: hypertension, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus.