Fifteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a pressing public health concern in Pakistan, with a lack of efficient school-based physical activity (PA) interventions. This study assesses the effects of a 12-week school-based PA intervention on obesity and related health outcomes in 921 children aged 7 to 15. This non-randomized controlled trial included 388 children in the intervention group and 533 in the control group. The intervention involved enhancing physical education, offering extracurricular activities for overweight/obese students, promoting physical activity at home, and providing health education to parents and students. Results: At baseline, participants had a mean age of 10.4 years, a mean body mass index (BMI) of 19.59 kg/m², and 36.8% were overweight or obese. The change in BMI in the intervention group (-0.02 ± 0.06 kg/m²) was significantly different from that in the control group (0.41 ± 0.08 kg/m²), with an adjusted mean difference of -0.43 kg/m² (95% CI: -0.63 to -0.23 kg/m², P < 0.001). The change in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) duration in the intervention group (8.9 ± 4.3 min/day) significantly differed from that in the control group (-13.8 ± 3.3 min/day), with an adjusted mean difference of 22.7 min/day (95% CI: 12.2 to 33.2 min/day, P < 0.001). The multi-component school-based PA intervention effectively reduced BMI and increased MVPA in children. These findings support the implementation of successful school-based obesity interventions, highlighting the potential for addressing childhood obesity in Pakistan’s school settings.