School-Based Overweight Preventive Intervention Lowers Incidence of Disordered Weight-Control Behaviors in Early Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Results add compelling support for the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary, school-based obesity prevention intervention to prevent disordered weight-control behaviors in early adolescent girls.

“It's Not the Stereotypical 80s Movie Bullying”: A Qualitative Study on the High School Environment, Body Image, and Weight Stigma

“…On the other hand, positive facets of the school environment included health curricula focused on healthy behaviors, PE classes with the freedom to choose between activities, and body size diversity amongst staff. Students' endorsement of curricula focused on healthy eating and active living (without emphasizing calorie counting or weight) is consistent with prior research that has shown such programs to simultaneously improve diet, physical activity, and weight trajectories while reducing disordered weight control behaviors 18,39,40 …”

Integrated prevention of obesity and eating disorders: barriers, developments and opportunities

“…has a larger sample, data for boys, new content, and the specific goal of determining the effect of a school-based intervention for promoting healthful nutrition and physical activity on disordered weight-control behaviours. That study, which includes 1451 early adolescent girls and boys, supports the effectiveness of the intervention to prevent disordered weight-control behaviours in early-adolescent girls, though no intervention effect was observed in boys (133) . According to its authors, it may be that the programme findings on disordered weight-control behaviours were achieved through a reduction in unhealthful weight concerns and body dissatisfaction, but further research will be needed to identify the mechanism of the observed protective effect.…”

School-Based Intervention as a Component of a Comprehensive Community Program for Overweight and Obesity Prevention, Sousse, Tunisia, 2009–2014

“…One intervention in Australia showed inconsistent behavioral outcomes in dietary and physical activity behaviors despite the positive reduction in anthropometric measurements ( 11 ). In contrast, numerous other interventions showed positive changes in nutritional and physical activity behaviors but were unable to also show significant decreases in overweight and obesity ( 12 , 13 ). The most successful programs in reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity were the ones that included some type of environmental change in the intervention ( 14 ).…”