Nurse-Led School-Based Child Obesity Prevention

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nursing
• Public Health Interventions
• Obesity Prevention

Background:

• Childhood obesity rates are rising due to decreased physical activity and poor dietary habits.
• School-based programs are effective for obesity prevention, but the school nurse's role is understudied.
• Existing research highlights the need to explore novel delivery methods for school-based obesity interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a school nurse-delivered health messaging program (Let's Go 5-2-1-0) for childhood obesity prevention.
• To assess the impact of on-site health coaching by nursing students on program outcomes.
• To examine changes in physical activity, body mass index percentile, and health habits among participating students.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design involving 72 fourth and fifth graders across two elementary schools.
• Intervention delivered by school nurses using the 'Let's Go 5-2-1-0' health messaging program.
• Data collection included physical activity levels, BMI percentile, and self-reported health habits at baseline and end-of-year.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant increases in physical activity levels were observed.
• Significant improvements in children's self-reported health habits were documented.
• The school nurse-led intervention demonstrated positive effects on student health behaviors.

Conclusions:

• School nurses are capable of effectively leading childhood obesity prevention initiatives.
• The 'Let's Go 5-2-1-0' program, delivered by school nurses, shows promise in improving student health.
• Further research is recommended to explore the broader adoption of school nurse-led obesity interventions.