Óscar Lopes

The Impact of an Intervention Taught by Trained Teachers on Childhood Overweight

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a six-months’ nutrition program, delivered and taught by classroom teachers with in-service nutrition training, on the prevention of overweight and obesity among children in grades 1 to 4. In this randomized trial, four hundred and sixty four children from seven elementary schools were allocated to a nutrition educational program delivered by their own teachers. Intervened teachers had 12 sessions of three hours each with the researchers throughout six months, according to the topics nutrition and healthy eating, the importance of drinking water and healthy cooking activities. After each session, teachers were encouraged to develop activities in class focused on the learned topics. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, dietary, and physical activity assessments were performed at baseline and at the end of the intervention. In the intervention group the increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score was significantly lower than in the control group (p = 0.009); fewer proportion of children became overweight in the intervened group compared with the control (5.6% vs. 18.4%; p = 0.037). Our study provides further support to decrease the overweight epidemic, involving classroom teachers in a training program and making them dedicated interventionists.

The impact of an intervention taught by trained teachers on childhood fruit and vegetable intake: A randomized trial

Our study aimed to assess the impact of a six-months nutrition program, taught by trained teachers, on fruit and vegetable consumption among children in grades 1 to 4. Four hundred and sixty-four children (239 female), 6 to 12 years old, from seven elementary schools were assigned to this randomized trial. Teachers were trained by researchers over six months, according to the following topics: nutrition, healthy eating, and strategies to increase physical activity. After each session, teachers were encouraged to develop activities in the classroom on the topics learned. Childrens sociodemographic, anthropometric, dietary, and physical activity data were assessed at baseline and at the end of the intervention. The effect sizes ranged between small (Cohens d = 0.12 on “other vegetables”) to medium (0.56 on “fruit and vegetable”), and intervened children reported a significantly higher consumption of vegetables and fruit. Interventions involving trained teachers offer promise to increase consumption of fruit and vegetable in children.

Impact of an intervention through teachers to prevent consumption of low nutrition, energy-dense foods and beverages: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of an intervention program held by teachers previously trained in nutrition, on the consumption of low nutrient, energy-dense (LNED) foods, of children attending elementary schools. METHOD 464 children (239 female, 6 to 12 years) from seven elementary Portuguese schools participated in this randomized trial. Three schools were allocated to the intervention, and four to the control group. The intervention program was based on the Health Promotion Model and social cognitive theory. Teachers previously trained by researchers in nutrition and healthy eating implemented the intervention in the classroom from November 2008 to March 2009. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, physical activity, and dietary assessments were performed before (2007/2008) and at the end of the intervention (2009). Dietary intake was gathered by a 24-hour dietary recall and two groups of LNED foods were defined, namely SSBs and solid LNED foods. RESULTS Children from intervention group reported a reduction whereas the control group reported an increase in solid LNED foods consumption. The odds of increasing solid LNED foods consumption was 0.48, 95%CI (0.24, 0.95) in the intervention schools. CONCLUSION Our study provides further support for the success of intervention programs aimed at limiting the consumption of solid LNED foods in children.

Health promotion intervention to improve diet quality in children: A randomized trial

Objective. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an intervention program, taught by trained teachers, on foods and nutrients components of the Diet Quality Index–International among children in Grades 1 to 4. Method. A total of 464 children (239 female, 6-12 years) from seven elementary Portuguese schools participated in this randomized trial. Three schools were allocated to the intervention, and four to the control group. The intervention program was based on the health promotion model and social cognitive theory. Teachers previously trained by researchers in nutrition, healthy eating, and healthy cooking implemented the intervention in the classroom from November 2008 to March 2009. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, physical activity, and dietary assessments were performed before (2007/2008) and at the end of the intervention (2009). Dietary intake was gathered by a 24-hour dietary recall and the components of Diet Quality Index–International were defined. Results. Children from the intervention schools reported a significantly higher adequacy in vegetable consumption (p = .018) and a significantly higher moderation in sodium consumption (p = .032) compared with the controllers. Conclusion. Our study provides further support for the success of intervention programs that aim to enhance children’s dietary intake. Implementing similar interventions can be promising to support vegetable consumption and moderate sodium intake.

Body Mass Index Categories and Attained Height in Portuguese Adults

Objective: To analyze the associations between height and BMI categories in a Portuguese representative sample. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 32,644 Portuguese adults (52.4% females). Sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics were obtained along with self-reported height and weight. We performed generalized linear models to assess the differences in attained height across BMI categories; analyses were adjusted for age, gender, education, family income per month, proxy reporting information, dietary patterns, and smoking. Results: BMI categories included underweight and normal weight (46.4%), overweight (37.6%), obese class I and II (15.2%), and obese class III (0.8%). Adults with normal weight had a significantly higher height (females +7 cm and males +5 cm) when compared to obese class III. As BMI categories increased, height decreased. In females and males, after adjusting for confounders, estimates of attained height decreased when compared to the unadjusted model (β = -0.049, 95% CI = -0.050; -0.049 and β = -0.030, 95% CI = -0.031; -0.029, respectively), although they remained still significant. Conclusion: Our results suggest a significant difference in attained height between BMI categories. Future intervention programs aiming at preventing overweight and obesity should monitor sociodemographic, health and environmental conditions that affect attained height potential.