Health promotion intervention in low socioeconomic kindergarten children.

OBJECTIVE To prospectively examine the effects of a randomized school-based intervention on nutrition and physical activity knowledge and preferences, anthropometric measures, and fitness in low socioeconomic kindergarten children. STUDY DESIGN A total of 376 children completed a school-year combined dietary-behavioral-physical activity intervention and were compared with 349 control subjects (age 3.8 to 6.8 years). RESULTS The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the kindergarten children was 27.7%. Even though the intervention was not associated with between group differences in body mass index changes, it was associated with significantly (P < .05) greater increase in nutrition knowledge and preferences, physical activity knowledge and preferences, and improvement in fitness. There was a greater (P < .05) decrease in the number of overweight children in the intervention group (-31.9%) compared with the controls (-17.5%). CONCLUSIONS A kindergarten dietary-physical activity intervention applied by the kindergarten teachers, had no effect on body mass index changes between the groups, but improved nutrition and physical activity knowledge and preferences, improved fitness, and decreased the percent of overweight children. This intervention may play an important role in health promotion, prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.