Introduction and background
Estimates indicate that 20% of the children in the USA are obese or overweight. The condition is attributed to a number of factors: genetic predisposition, environmental influence, socioeconomic status and environmental influence It is estimated that about 1.1 million New Yorkers under the age of 18 years are obese. A review of literature on intervention programs identified a dearth of customized programs that address the needs of vulnerable obesogenic populations,. It is against this backdrop that an analysis of the customized intervention program which will be pilot tested in Buffalo New York on 12 to 15 year olds will be carried out.
- Does the involvement of all stakeholders in the designing and implementation of an intervention strategy result in a more effective programme?
- What are the post intervention differences among students who take part in school based intervention programs and those who do not?
- What are the gaps in the design, implementation and evaluation of school based intervention programs?
Methods
A community centered approach known as Stay and Play initiative will be developed in partnership with parents and teachers and pilot tested for a period of a year among a select group of students drawn from 12 schools in Buffalo city. The participants will be aged between 12 and 15. The participants will remain in school every day for two hours and play after rigorous training and having their BMI determined. The ones in the control group will be allowed to go home but will be required to document their activities after school. Multiple methods of data collection: survey questions, self written accounts and focus groups. Analysis of the data shall be involve carrying out Mc Nemar’s test and paired t-tests.
Conclusion
The Stay and Play intervention program is meant to encourage adolescents to engage in physical activity. The results and inferences could prove to be instrumental in the improvement of the program and the designing of other programs in future.
References
Anderson, S., & ., R. (2009). Prevalence of obesity among US preschool children in different racial and ethnic groups. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med , 163(4) , 344-348.
CDC. (2007.). The Obesity Epidemic and New York Students. Retrieved January 12, 2014, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: <http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/obesity/yrbs07_new_york_obesity.pdf>
Groot, F. D., Robertson, N., Swinburn, B., & Swanigorski, A. D. (2010). Increasing community capacity to prevent childhood obesity: challenges, lessons learned and results from the Romp & Chomp intervention. BMC Public Health , 522.
Khan, L., Sobush, K., Keneer, D., Goodman, K., Lowry, A., Kakietek, J., et al. (2009 ). Recommended community strategies and measurements to prevent obesity in the United States. MMWR recomm rep. , 1-26.
S.Daniels. (2006 ). The consequences of childhood overweight and obesity. Future Child , 47-67.
