Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting
Date Submitted: Jun 26, 2023
Date Accepted: Jun 11, 2024
Effect of a web-based nutritional and physical activity intervention with email support on primary school children’s BMI z-score during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Viennese EDDY Online study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Studies show an enhanced increase in children’s weight and body mass index (BMI) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore measures to maintain children´s health are of vital importance.
Objective:
This study examines the effects of a 15-week web-based intervention of nutritional education and physical activity on children’s BMI z-score during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vienna.
Methods:
This pilot study was conducted in a Viennese primary school from February to June 2021. The study population included an intervention group and a control group comprising 125 8- to 11-year-olds. The intervention group received online nutritional and physical activity training, whereas the control group received no intervention. Anthropometric measurements were performed before and after intervention for both groups.
Results:
At baseline, 41.2% were overweight/obese. After the study period, the BMI z-score decreased by 0.06 (±0.21) in the intervention group, whereas it increased by 0.17 (±0.34) in the control group (p<0.001). Further results show that the decrease in BMI z-score according to sex was significant in the intervention group for boys (p=0.004) and girls (p=0.012).
Conclusions:
In conclusion, an online intervention with combined nutritional education and physical activity training could be an adequate tool to lessen the enhanced increase in body weight during a pandemic. Therefore, further studies and the rapid implementation of such intervention programs are needed.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.