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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Dec;32(4):149-55.
doi: 10.3109/02813432.2014.982363. Epub 2014 Nov 26.

Result of school-based intervention on cardiovascular risk factors

Hannes Hrafnkelsson  1 , Kristjan Th Magnusson, Inga Thorsdottir, Erlingur Johannsson, Emil L Sigurdsson
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Result of school-based intervention on cardiovascular risk factors

Hannes Hrafnkelsson et al. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a two-year school-based intervention, consisting of integrated and replicable physical activity and nutritional education on weight, fat percentage, cardiovascular risk factors, and blood pressure.

Design and setting: Six elementary schools in Reykjavik were randomly assigned to be either intervention (n = 3) or control (n = 3) schools. Seven-year-old children in the second grade in these schools were invited to participate (n = 321); 268 (83%) underwent some or all of the measurements. These 286 children were followed up for two years.

Intervention: Children in intervention schools participated in an integrated and replicable physical activity programme, increasing to approximately 60 minutes of physical activity during school in the second year of intervention. Furthermore, they received special information about nutrition, and parents, teachers, and school food service staff were all involved in the intervention. Subjects. 321seven-year-old schoolchildren.

Main outcome measures: Blood pressure, obesity, percentage of body fat, lipid profile, fasting insulin.

Results: Children in the intervention group had a 2.3 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a 2.9 mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) over the two-year intervention period, while children in the control group increased SBP by 6.7 mmHg and DPB by 8.4 mmHg. These changes were not statistically significant. Furthermore there were no significant changes in percentage body fat, lipid profile, or fasting insulin between the intervention and control schools.

Conclusion: A two-year school-based intervention with increased physical activity and healthy diet did not have a significant effect on common cardiovascular risk factors.

Keywords: Blood pressure; Iceland; children; general practice; intervention; nutrition; physical activity; school.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart showing number (%) of participations in the primary outcome measurements in 2006 and 2008.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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