Effectiveness of a school-based program focusing on diet and health habits taught through physical exercise

The global rate of obesity in childhood is becoming an epidemic and many authors have established a significant association between childhood obesity and overweight in adulthood. It is therefore necessary to seek effective strategies to reduce these levels of obesity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Healthy Habits Program (HHP). The participants were 158 children from the 5th and 6th grades (Intervention Group [IG] n=82, Control Group [CG] n=76). The HHP is a school-based physical activity program focusing on promoting a healthy lifestyle. It lasted for 8 months, and measurements were taken at the beginning and end of the program. Physiological variables (total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, blood pressure and VO2max), anthropometric variables (BMI) and behavioral variables (breakfast, quality of diet, meal frequency, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep and perceived health) were evaluated. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed significant improvements (pThe accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author