Prevention of Excessive Weight Gain by Discouraging Students From Drinking Sodas

Rio de Janeiro State University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Overweight; Children

Treatments: Behavioral: Lifestyle modification

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02653352

500404/2003-8

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study was to encourage students to reduce soft drinks intake, substituting it by water, in order to prevent and control overweight prevalence.

Full description

During seven months of one school year, a healthy lifestyle education programme was implemented using simple messages encouraging water consumption instead of sugar sweetened carbonated beverages. The messages were previously tested for understanding in two small groups of children of the same age and socio-economic background as the study participants. Also, beliefs and behaviors of children in these focus groups were recorded in order to orient activities and the production of printed materials to be given to participants. Education was delivered via classroom activities; banners were hung promoting water consumption, and water bottles with the logo of the campaign were given to children and schoolteachers.

Enrollment: 1,140 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 9 to 12 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 4th grade morning classes

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnancy
• Physical disabilities preventing anthropometric measurement

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,140 participants in 2 patient groups

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group received two one-hour general sessions on health issues and printed general advices regarding healthy diets.

Lifestyle modification

Experimental group

Description:

Intervention was focused on the reduction in consumption of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages by students. During seven months of one school year, a healthy lifestyle education programme was implemented using simple messages encouraging water consumption instead of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages. Education was delivered via classroom activities; banners were hung promoting water consumption, and water bottles with the logo of the campaign were given to children and schoolteachers.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Lifestyle modification