Effectiveness of an ecological school-based intervention, including promotion of physical activity, on physical health in young

An ecological program that promote physical activity in school is advisable to prevent or reduced overweight and obesity epidemic (Dobbin, 2009 – NICE, 2009) because it is able to facilitate changes in lifestyle and body fat content. This work present preliminary data on the effectiveness of an ecological physical activity school-based program in overweight/obese children (9-12 years). Methods. Seventy-four students were randomly assigned to Intervention Group (IG) and Control Group (CG); in this work we discuss the results of the twenty-eight overweight/obese children inserted in the two groups. Before and after 4 months of intervention (information for parents and Scholastic headmasters, physical activity 2 times a week, education for children) anthropometric parameters (BMI, skinfolds, waist circumference), physical fitness (balance, flexibility, arms, legs and abdominal strength, endurance), were measured. In addition, the following questionnaires were administered: Physical Activity Questionnaire for older children (PAQ-C), Physical Activity Stage of Change (PASCQ), Perceived Physical ability Scale (PPAS), Perceived Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). Two way ANOVA with repeated measures was used to compare pre-post and IG-CG results. Results. After intervention IG shows positive changes in Sum of skinfolds (2.3%; p<0.001), PASCQ (75.6%; P<0.001), PPAS (13.3%; P<0.001), PACES (5.5%; P<0.001), PAQ-C (15.7%; P<0.001) and in endurance (5,43%; p