Prevention of further weight gain in overweight school children, a pilot study.

Background: Involving school nurses in weight gain prevention activities in already overweight children may be a means to address childhood obesity prevention.

Objective: To describe and evaluate a treatment method aimed for implementation in school care centres.

Methods: Twenty families (20 overweight children aged 7 years) were interviewed at baseline with standardized questionnaires, received simple dietary and lifestyle advice. Weight was measured and advice/support by school nurses was available monthly during the 1-year period. A follow-up was made after 1 year. Changes in wellbeing, life style and body mass index (BMI) z-score were recorded and analysed. Experiences from parents and nurses were also examined.

Results: A good (91%) or fair (54%) adherence to dietary advice was found in children who decreased or maintained their z-score respectively. Mean BMI z-score reduced [-0.16 (p = 0.03)] during the intervention period. Generally, parents and school nurses were satisfied with the programme, helping them to set limits and be more self-confident in their role as 'health adviser' respectively.

Conclusions: Overweight progression in younger children is possible to modify by increased awareness of the problem, of their food habits and lifestyle practices. Providing school nurses with the knowledge to address the problem and working in collaboration with dieticians and a healthcare team can be an effective means to prevent further weight gain in overweight school-age children. Possibility of stigmatization was expressed thus efforts will need to be made to carry out such a programme to preserve the children's integrity and run activities in a discrete manner in the school environment.