A school-based lifestyle intervention in Chinese children and adolescents was associated with a 0.89-point increase in CVH score and 14% greater odds of having high CVH (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.01-1.29).
RCT (n=57,210)
Yes
Does a school-based lifestyle intervention improve cardiovascular health scores in children and adolescents?
A school-based lifestyle intervention targeting diet and physical activity modestly improved cardiovascular health scores in Chinese children and adolescents, with greater benefits seen in younger age groups.
Effect estimate: OR 1.14 (95% CI 1.01-1.29)
Background We evaluated the effects of a national school‐based lifestyle intervention program against childhood obesity on improving cardiovascular health (CVH), assessed using the recently introduced Life's Essential 8 metric framework. Methods and Results Our post hoc analysis of the national school‐based lifestyle intervention targeting diet and physical activity included 94 schools with eligible students aged 7 to 17 years (intervention group n=30 629; control group n=26 581). We assessed CVH metrics by individual scores for 4 health behaviors (diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, and body mass index) and 3 health factors (blood lipids, glucose, and pressure). These scores were subsequently combined to calculate the CVH score, health behavior score, and health factor score. The primary outcomes were these 3 composite scores and high CVH (CVH score≥80). All analyses applied a likelihood‐based random‐effects regression modeling following the intention‐to‐treat. The school‐based lifestyle intervention was associated with a 0.89‐point increase in the CVH score (95% CI, 0.03–1.74), 14% greater odds of having high CVH (odds ratio, 1.14 95% CI, 1.01–1.29), and a 1.35‐point improvement in the health behavior score (95% CI, 0.32–2.38). According to our subgroup analyses, this intervention had stronger favorable effects on CVH and health behavior scores in primary (grades 1–6) and junior (grades 7–9) schools than in senior high (grades 10–12) schools ( P <0.001). Conclusions This school‐based lifestyle intervention improved CVH behaviors in Chinese children and adolescents. The differences in the intervention effect according to school grade imply critical windows for forming healthy lifestyles at younger ages. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02343588.
Guo et al. (Fri,) conducted a rct in Childhood obesity (n=57,210). School-based lifestyle intervention targeting diet and physical activity vs. Control group was evaluated on CVH score, health behavior score, health factor score, and high CVH (CVH score≥80) (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01-1.29). A school-based lifestyle intervention in Chinese children and adolescents was associated with a 0.89-point increase in CVH score and 14% greater odds of having high CVH (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.01-1.29).