فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

BACKGROUND: The influence of western lifestyle such as high‑caloric dense food and sedentarylifestyle has a great influence on Indian children, and the current prevalence of childhood overweightin India ranges between 4% and 22%. The primary aim of the study was to determine the changein growth parameters (waist circumference) as well as dietary behaviors at baseline and at theend of first, third, sixth, and ninth months among overweight adolescent girls and boys following aschool‑based nutritional education program.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in 2019 in four urban schools at Puducherrywhich were randomly assigned to study and control groups by lottery method, and 140 overweightchildren aged 11–14 years were in the study group and 140 children were in the control group.Simple random sampling method was used to select the samples A nutrition education programhighlighting the importance of balanced nutrition and the ill effects of obesity was imparted to studentsin the study group through a PowerPoint presentation. As a means of reinforcement, posters andpamphlets were distributed. The waist circumference and the mean calorie, protein, and fat intakewere assessed at baseline and at the first, third, sixth, and ninth months and compared betweengroups using independent t test.RESULTS: There was a statistically significant reduction in waist circumference in the study groupwhen compared to the control group at P < 0.05. A significant decrease in the calorie intake atP < 0.001 and fat intake at P < 0.01 was observed in the study group. The protein intake in the studygroup increased at the end of 9 months, which was significant at P < 0.001.CONCLUSION: School‑based nutritional education program has been found to be a successfulintervention in controlling unnecessary weight gain among overweight adolescents.