Study conducted in collaboration
with Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba –Ra’anana,
Israel, July 18, 2005
The Israel Heart Fund (IHF) announced today the results of
a study, conducted in collaboration with Meir Medical Center
in Kfar Saba, Israel, on the effects of a school-based combined
dietary-behavioral-physical activity intervention on fatness
and fitness in kindergarten children. The study highlights
the importance of early health promotion intervention programs
for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity and
inactivity.
The study included 101 kindergarten children. Fifty-four
were assigned to the intervention group and 47 to the control
group. During the 14-week intervention, daily physical activity
was significantly increased in children participating in the
intervention, both during kindergarten hours and after school,
compared with children in the control group. In addition,
significant changes in body weight, body mass index (BMI)
percentile, body fat percent, and fitness were observed in
the intervention group relative to the control group.
“In the fight against heart disease, we believe that
it’s never too early to address potential risk factors,
which is why we are so enthusiastic about the results of this
innovative study, conducted together with Meir Medical Center,”
said Professor Morton Leibowitz, President and Founder of
the Israel Heart Fund. “This type of early health promotion
intervention program can serve as an effective model and preventive
strategy for the battle against sedentary lifestyle and overweight
in kindergartens and elementary schools.”
Obesity is the most common chronic pediatric disease of the
modern era. Over the past 20 years, the number of overweight
children has doubled, with 20-25% of children now being overweight.
The roots of the obesity epidemic are embedded in early childhood.
Furthermore, data show that the amount of physical activity
that children engage in has declined dramatically in recent
years. Early health education could serve to prevent and treat
childhood obesity and its numerous complications.
“We are very pleased by the results of our study, and
thankful to the Israel Heart Fund for their support. We were
successfully able to both introduce children, at the kindergarten
level, to a healthy lifestyle, including daily physical activity
and good nutrition, and show how this knowledge impacts their
body composition and leisure time habits,” said Dr.
Dan Nemet of the Department of Pediatrics, Child Health and
Sports Center at Meir Medical Center, and an Israel Heart
Fund Fellow. “Furthermore, the unique structure of this
program, including detailed theoretical lesson plans and daily
physical training exercises, makes it easily adaptable to
every kindergarten schedule.”
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