Even as the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in the U.S. has climbed to an all-time high, say University of Oklahoma researchers, American Indian children have disproportionately high rates. But intervention studies usually don’t include them because they’re in small populations in rural areas.
The researchers developed a program, Middle School Opportunity for Vigorous Exercise (MOVE) for the Anadarko Middle School, which has an average fall enrollment of 442 students aged 12 to 15 years. They based the program on an exercise prescription suggested by the 1996 report by the surgeon general, Physical Activity and Health . They aimed at getting the students to walk or run 1 mile each school day and then engage in a team activity such as basketball, soccer, football, dodge ball, or volleyball. The intervention involved about 20 students per class and took place during 5 school years.
The researchers measured changes in body mass index (BMI) among participants and nonparticipants. During the study period, 46 boys and 20 girls met the criterion of participating for 2 consecutive semesters. Of those, > 50% were American Indian. At baseline, 10 were overweight and 19 were obese.
The MOVE participants had a significantly smaller increase in BMI than that of nonparticipants. Mean BMI scores remained the same among girls participating in MOVE but increased for nonparticipating girls. Mean BMI score decreased among boys participating in MOVE and increased among nonparticipating boys.
Although the changes were small—and the girls’ BMIs remained stable—their program demonstrates that improvements can be achieved, the researchers say. A curriculum that encourages a healthy lifestyle in general is important, but specifically, they suggest, daily walking or running may be needed to maintain or reduce BMI. Moreover, it could help establish a crucial habit of regular physical activity in the young.