The effectiveness of a local public health program to influence fitness and nutrition goals in children

A local public health department conducted a program to improve childhood fitness and nutrition known as « A Healthier Me » (AHM). AHM is a one-hour multidisciplinary outreach program conducted for children ages 5 to 12 (n=129). The program included a survey of “risk behaviours” and “fitness and nutrition goals”. AHM was effective at improving nutrition goals (7 versus 5 days per week, p<0.05) in children not exposed to excessive television watching. Children who ate fast food were 5 times more likely to excessively watch TV (95% CI 3.5, 7.5) and 3.9 times more likely to not eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day (95%CI 2.9, 5.3). Children who did eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day were 3.2 times more likely to watch TV excessively (95% CI 1.9, 5.6). The odds of obesity was 101.5 times greater for children who do not eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day (95% CI 2.06 to 4993.7). In children who attended AHM twice (n=20), exercise sessions increased from 4.9 to 6.9 per week (p=not significant); watching TV hours decreased from 4.4 to 3.2 hours per day (p<0.01), and eating fruits and vegetables increased from 5.2 to 5.6 days of the week (p=0.06). AHM improves fitness and nutrition goals. Improving uptake of fruits and vegetables per day is extremely important in reducing obesity in children ages 5 to 12.