Effects of school-based "We Fit" weight control programme in adolescents

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
• Effective school-based interventions are needed to promote healthy weight management in adolescents.
• Existing programs often lack engaging components for sustained participation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based weight control program called "We Fit" for Korean high school adolescents.
• To assess the impact of the program on anthropometric, physiological, and physical activity measures.
• To determine adolescent satisfaction with the program components.

Main Methods:

• A nonequivalent control group, pretest-posttest design was employed with 109 participants.
• The intervention included exergames, diet diaries, counseling, health education, and social networking group discussions.
• Measurements included anthropometrics, physiological factors, daily steps, and sitting time, analyzed using generalized estimating equations.

Main Results:

• The intervention group demonstrated a significant reduction in waist circumference.
• Key improvements included increased skeletal muscle mass and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
• Participants also showed decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and reduced weekend sitting time.

Conclusions:

• The "We Fit" program is applicable and effective for adolescent weight control in school settings.
• Exergames can be a valuable tool in school-based healthy weight management interventions.
• The study provides evidence supporting the integration of technology and lifestyle education for adolescent health.