Study protocol: effects of the THAO-child health intervention program on the prevention of childhood obesity - the POIBC study

• Published in: BMC pediatrics Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 215
• Main Authors: Gomez, Santiago F, Casas, Rafael, Palomo, Vanessa Taylor, Martin Pujol, Anna, Fíto, Montserrat, Schröder, Helmut
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 29.08.2014; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Adiposity; Body Height; Body Weight; Child; Children & youth; Childrens health; Clinical Protocols; Community Health Services - methods; Diet; Eating behavior; Estil de vida; Exercise; Feeding Behavior; Female; Health; Health aspects; Health Behavior; Health care; Health Promotion - methods; Humans; Intervention; Life Style; Lifestyles; Male; Medical personnel; Nutrition research; Obesitat en els infants; Obesity; Obesity in children; Overweight; Pediatric Obesity - prevention & control; Prevention; Promoció de la salut; Public health; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Salut, Serveis comunitaris de; Sleep; Software; Spain; Study Protocol; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment Outcome; Waist Circumference; Weight control; Spain; Madrid Spain
• ISSN: 1471-2431; 1471-2431
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2431-14-215

The speeding increase and the high prevalence of childhood obesity is a serious problem for Public Health. Community Based Interventions has been developed to combat against the childhood obesity epidemic. However little is known on the efficacy of these programs. Therefore, there is an urgent need to determine the effect of community based intervention on changes in lifestyle and surrogate measures of adiposity. Parallel intervention study including two thousand 2249 children aged 8 to 10 years ( 4th and 5th grade of elementary school) from 4 Spanish towns. The THAO-Child Health Program, a community based intervention, were implemented in 2 towns. Body weight, height, and waist circumferences were measured. Children recorded their dietary intake on a computer-based 24h recall. All children also completed validated computer based questionnaires to estimate physical activity, diet quality, eating behaviors, and quality of life and sleep. Additionally, parental diet quality and physical activity were assessed by validated questionnaires. This study will provide insight in the efficacy of the THAO-Child Health Program to promote a healthy lifestyle. Additionally it will evaluate if lifestyle changes are accompanied by favorable weight management. Trial Registration Number ISRCTN68403446.