A short-term food and nutritional education pilot intervention for prevention of overweight among school-age children in panama

Abstract

Background: Overweight in Panamanian school-age children is an increasing public health concern. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a short-term food and nutritional education intervention for the prevention of overweight in public schools of poor districts of Panama. Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental analytical prospective study (pre and pro-test) was conducted. The study was conducted with 331 students (6-11 years) divided into either: Intervention (n= 209) or control group (n= 122). The intervention lasted seven weeks in January-February 2018. Sociodemographics, food security, and anthropometry (weight and height) were measured and body mass index z score for sex and age (BAZ) were calculated, considering overweight when z-score was ≥1. Result: The mean and standard deviation (SD) for age was 9.2±1.6 years (53% female). Mean and SD in BMIz pre and post intervention was 0.66±1.2 and 0.68±1.3 SD (t test; p= NS), respectively. The mean and SD of the change in BMIz for the control and treatment group was 0.06±0.65 and 0.01±0.75 SD, respectively; no significant difference was observed by intervention and control groups after adjusting for geographic location and sex (MANOVA; p= 0.493). Overweight was present in 36.6% of the sample at baseline and no significant difference was observed after intervention (34.4%). Conclusion: This short-term food and nutritional education did not modify nutritional status. However, it is an important tool that helps raise awareness among the school population about healthy eating habits and lifestyles.