Mark, Set, Go! School-Based Nutrition and Physical Activity Program: A Five-Year Evaluation.

Mark, Set Go! is a school-based intervention addressing pediatric obesity in an urban, underserved community. This study evaluates its impact on participants' knowledge, attitudes and behavior related to nutrition, physical activity and screen time. METHOD Participants, 954 fifth- and sixth-grade public school students, received a 9-week classroom-based intervention led by high school peer educators. A matched design analyzed paired data from pre/post intervention knowledge, attitude and behavior surveys, heights, weights and 24 hour pedometer recordings. RESULTS 787 students (82.4%) completed both a pre- and post-test. Participants demonstrated improvement in knowledge, self-reported screen time, daily exercise and sweetened beverage consumption. Changes were greater for girls. A statistically significant decrease in BMI was noted overall, for boys and for overweight students, among the 443 participants (46%) with paired BMI data. CONCLUSIONS This school-based peer educator led intervention was effective in improving participant knowledge and healthy behaviors. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-02.asp].