The epidemic of lifestyle-dependent diseases and the failure of previous interventions to combat the main causes demand an alternative approach. Abdominal obesity is associated with most of these diseases and is a good target for therapeutic and preventive measures. Time-restricted feeding (TRF) offers a low-threshold, easy-to-implement lifestyle-modification concept with promising results from animal testing. Here, we describe a pilot study of TRF with abdominally obese participants (waist-to-height ratio, WHtR ≥0.5) in a general practitioner’s office. Participants (n = 40, aged 49.1 ± 12.4, 31 females) were asked to restrict their daily eating time to 8–9 hours in order to prolong their overnight fasting period to 15–16 hours. Questionnaires, anthropometrics, and blood samples were used at baseline and at follow-up. After three months of TRF, participants had reached the fasting target, on average, on 85.5 ± 15.2% of all days recorded. Waist circumference (WC) was reduced by −5.3 ± 3.1cm (p < 0.001), and three participants reached a WHtR <0.5. HbA1c was diminished by −1.4 ± 3.5 mmol/mol (p = 0.003). TRF may be an easily understandable and readily adoptable lifestyle change with the potential to reduce abdominal obesity and lower the risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Further well-designed studies are necessary to investigate the applicability and usefulness of TRF for public health.

The study gives new information about the cost-effectiveness of structured health promotion embedded in daily routine at primary schools. Assuming a MWTP of euro35 the intervention is cost-effective with a positive NMB. This result may help decision makers in implementing programmes to prevent childhood overweight in school settings.

Studies have shown preventive effects of an active lifestyle during childhood on later life; therefore, health promotion has to start early. The programme “Join the Healthy Boat” promotes a healthy lifestyle in primary school children. In order to evaluate it, children's behaviours in respect of increased physical activity (PA), a decrease in screen media use (SMU), more regular breakfast, and a reduction of the consumption of soft drinks (SDC) were investigated. 1943 children (7.1 ± 0.6 years) participated in the cluster-randomised study and were assessed at baseline and 1736 of them at follow-up. Teachers delivered lessons, which included behavioural contracting and budgeting of SMU and SDC. Daily SMU, PA behaviours, SDC, and breakfast patterns were assessed via parental questionnaire. After one-year intervention, significant effects were found in the intervention group for SMU of girls, children without migration background, and children with parents having a low education level. In the control group, second grade children skipped breakfast significantly more often. Tendencies but no significant differences were found for PA and SDC. This intervention seems to affect groups, which are usually hard to reach, such as children of parents with low education levels, which shows that active parental involvement is vital for successful interventions.

AimTo evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the state-wide implementation of the health promotion program “Join the Healthy Boat” in primary schools in Germany.MethodsCluster-randomized intervention trial with wait-list control group. Anthropometric data of 1733 participating children (7.1 ± 0.6 years) were taken by trained staff before and after a one year intervention period in the academic year 2010/11. Parents provided information about the health status, and the health behaviour of their children and themselves, parental anthropometrics, and socio-economic background variables. Incidence of abdominal obesity, defined as waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) ≥ 0.5, was determined. Generalized linear models were applied to account for the clustering of data within schools, and to adjust for baseline-values. Losses to follow-up and missing data were analysed. From a societal perspective, the overall costs, costs per pupil, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) to identify the costs per case of averted abdominal obesity were calculated.ResultsThe final regression model for the incidence of abdominal obesity shows lower odds for the intervention group after an adjustment for grade, gender, baseline WHtR, and breakfast habits (odds ratio = 0.48, 95% CI [0.25; 0.94]). The intervention costs per child/year were €25.04. The costs per incidental case of averted abdominal obesity varied between €1515 and €1993, depending on the different dimensions of the target group.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the positive effects of state-wide, school-based health promotion on incidental abdominal obesity, at affordable costs and with proven cost-effectiveness. These results should support allocative decisions of policymakers. An early start to the prevention of abdominal obesity is of particular importance because of its close relationship to non-communicable diseases.Trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), Freiburg University, Germany, DRKS-ID: DRKS00000494.

BackgroundIncreasing prevalences of overweight and obesity in children are known problems in industrialized countries. Early prevention is important as overweight and obesity persist over time and are related with health problems later in adulthood. "Komm mit in das gesunde Boot - Grundschule" is a school-based program to promote a healthier lifestyle. Main goals of the intervention are to increase physical activity, decrease the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and to decrease time spent sedentary by promoting active choices for healthy lifestyle. The program to date is distributed by 34 project delivery consultants in the state of Baden-Württemberg and is currently implemented in 427 primary schools. The efficacy of this large scale intervention is examined via the Baden-Württemberg Study.Methods/DesignThe Baden-Württemberg Study is a prospective, stratified, cluster-randomized, and longitudinal study with two groups (intervention group and control group). Measurements were taken at the beginning of the academic years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012. Efficacy of the intervention is being assessed using three main outcomes: changes in waist circumference, skinfold thickness and 6 minutes run. Stratified cluster-randomization (according to class grade level) was performed for primary schools; pupils, teachers/principals, and parents were investigated. An approximately balanced number of classes in intervention group and control group could be reached by stratified randomization and was maintained at follow-up.DiscussionAt present, "Komm mit in das Gesunde Boot - Grundschule" is the largest school-based health promotion program in Germany. Comparative objective main outcomes are used for the evaluation of efficacy. Simulations showed sufficient power with the existing sample size. Therefore, the results will show whether the promotion of a healthier lifestyle in primary school children is possible using a relatively low effort within a school-based program involving children, teachers and parents. The research team anticipates that not only efficacy will be proven in this study but also expects many other positive effects of the program.Trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS-ID: DRKS00000494