APPLE Project: 2-y findings of a community-based obesity prevention program in primary school–age children

Improving weight status in childhood: results from the eat well be active community programs

“…The differential change in WC z-score in INT is noteworthy and may confer a significant benefit to future population health given the strong link between healthy weight distribution and cardiometabolic health (Watts et al 2008). CI, -0.1151 to -0.0859) in the intervention community compared with children in two control communities (mean age 7.6 +/-1.0 year) (Economos et al 2007).Similarly, in a community-based intervention with children aged 5 to 12 years in Otago, New Zealand (APPLE), zBMI was significantly lower in intervention than control children at 2 years, by a mean of 0.26 (95% CI: 0.21, 0.32) and WC was significantly lower at 2 y (-1 cm) (Taylor et al 2007). Further follow-up 2 years after the intervention ended showed that mean zBMI remained significantly lower in intervention children.…”

“…Be Active Eat Well (Sanigorski et al 2008a), Romp & Chomp (de Silva-Sanigorski et al 2010b), Fun n Healthy in Moreland! (Moore and Gibbs 2010), and Project APPLE (Taylor et al 2007). …”

Strengthening the rigour of population-wide, community-based obesity prevention evaluations

“…Only a few trials included in the present review indicated that such measures had been previously demonstrated to be valid or reliable (33,34,39) . While short item questionnaires may represent the most feasible method to assess changes in broad dietary or activity patterns, such items represent crude measures and often are not sufficiently sensitive to detect small but meaningful changes at a population level.…”

“…Reporting of trial outcomes consistent with such standards has been a feature of some past published community-based obesity prevention evaluations (33,34,39) . Greater adherence to such standards improves transparent and consistent reporting of research trials (50) and may facilitate subsequent synthesis of trial outcomes by systematic reviews.…”

Preschool children and excess weight: the impact of a low complexity intervention in public day care centers

“…Taylor et al 11 demonstrates that it is possible to modify the average Body Mass Index of students between 5 and 12 years of age already after the first year of intervention using a relatively simple intervention of nutritional education, which pointed to a tendency of reduction in excessive weight gain.…”