Effect of counselling school teachers on healthy lifestyle on the impact of a program to reduce childhood obesity

Background: In 2007, a preventive strategy for childhood obesity, that included food education and an increase in physical activity, was implemented in seven public schools located in Santiago. In four of these schools, a counselling program about healthy lifestyles for teachers was also carried out. Aim: To test if counselling had an effect in the intervention for children. Material and Methods: Anthropometric measures were assessed in children at baseline and after two years of intervention. Teachers were also evaluated with anthropometry and a blood sample was obtained to measure blood glucose and serum lipids. Results: Four hundred twelve children from schools whose teachers had counselling and 237 children from schools whose teachers did not have it were evaluated. Twenty eight teachers with and 19 with no counselling were also assessed. In children, the overall prevalence of obesity decreased from 20.2 to 18.3% (p = 0.03). This reduction was only significant among females. BMI Z score decreased significantly in children of both genders. No effect of counselling was observed on weight reduction. Among teachers that received counseling, the prevalence of obesity decreased from 25 to 22.4%, with significant improvements in blood glucose and HDL cholesterol. Conclusions: Counseling directed at teachers did not improve the effect of a program to reduce obesity among school children