Coordinated Approach: Comprehensive Policy and Action Planning

Schools play a vital role in student health, and a collaborative approach may affect health factors such as physical activity (PA) and nutrition. There is a lack of recent literature synthesizing collaborative approaches in K-12 settings. We present updated evidence about interventions that used a coordinated school health approach to support K-12 student PA and nutrition in the United States.

A 2-phase literature review search included a search of systematic reviews for individual qualifying studies (2010-2018), followed by a search for individual articles (2010-2020) that evaluated a coordinated approach or use of school wellness councils, committees, or teams to address PA and/or nutrition.

We identified 35 articles describing 30 studies and grouped them by intervention type. Interventions demonstrated promising findings for environmental changes and student dietary and PA behaviors.

Coordinated and multicomponent interventions demonstrated significant improvements or null results, indicating that implementation of programs and/or policies to promote healthier eating and PA practices may support and do not appear to hinder environmental or behavioral outcomes.

Schools can use a coordinated approach to implement opportunities for PA and nutrition; this may influence students' PA and dietary behaviors.