Background Underserved children, particularly girls and those in urban communities, do not meet the recommended physical activity guidelines (>60 min of daily physical activity), and this behavior can lead to obesity. The school years are known to be a critical period in the life course for shaping attitudes and behaviors. Children look to schools for much of their access to physical activity. Thus, through the provision of appropriate physical activity programs, schools have the power to influence apt physical activity choices, especially for underserved children where disparities in obesity-related outcomes exist. Objectives To evaluate the impact of a nurse directed, coordinated, culturally sensitive, school-based, family-centered lifestyle program on activity behaviors and body mass index. Design, settings and participants: This was a parallel group, randomized controlled trial utilizing a community-based participatory research approach, through a partnership with a University and 5 community schools. Participants included 251 children ages 8–12 from elementary schools in urban, low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles, USA. Methods The intervention included Kids N Fitness©, a 6-week program which met weekly to provide 45 min of structured physical activity and a 45 min nutrition education class for parents and children. Intervention sites also participated in school-wide wellness activities, including health and counseling services, staff professional development in health promotion, parental education newsletters, and wellness policies for the provision of healthy foods at the school. The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health School Physical Activity and Nutrition Student Questionnaire measured physical activity behavior, including: daily physical activity, participation in team sports, attending physical education class, and TV viewing/computer game playing. Anthropometric measures included height, weight, body mass index, resting blood pressure, and waist circumference. Measures were collected at baseline, completion of the intervention phase (4 months), and 12 months post-intervention. Results Significant results for students in the intervention, included for boys decreases in TV viewing; and girls increases in daily physical activity, physical education class attendance, and decreases in body mass index z-scores from baseline to the 12 month follow-up. Conclusions Our study shows the value of utilizing nurses to implement a culturally sensitive, coordinated, intervention to decrease disparities in activity and TV viewing among underserved girls and boys.

With the significant increase in the number of racial/ethnic minority youth with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), effective approaches are urgently needed. Although previous school-based studies have demonstrated that programs combining environmental, behavioral and educational components can be successful in preventing cardiovascular disease in youth such studies have not focused on youth at higher risk for T2DM-inner city, racial/ ethnic minority youth. Engaging in regular physical activity is widely accepted as an effective preventative measure for a variety of obesity-related chronic diseases including diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Disparities exist where racial/ethnic minority and low-income youth do not meet these physical activity recommendations. Schools, through the provision of culturally and developmentally appropriate healthy lifestyle programs, have the power to decrease body mass index (BMI) and increase physical activity, especially for racial/ethnic, inner-city at youth at risk for T2DM. The present clustered, randomized controlled trial study utilized a community-based participatory research approach to evaluate the impact of a family-centered, culturally sensitive, comprehensive school health program, called Kids N Fitness © , on BMI z-scores and physical activity behaviors of the youth participant from baseline to the 12-month followup among a sample of Mexican-American, inner-city elementary school youth (N = 97) in Los Angeles County at risk for T2DM. Results: Youth who participated in the KNF © program had significant decreases in BMI (p = 0.05), BMI body mass index z-scores (p = 0.03), vigorous daily physical activity (p = 0.01) and PE class attendance (p = 0.02) from baseline to the 12 month follow-up. Conclusions: These results suggest that a culturally appropriate, comprehensive school health program may have promise for decreasing BMI and BMI z-scores and increasing activity in this high risk sample. Clinicians and teachers can incorporate the approaches used in this study to reduce the risk of T2DM in youth at risk. Comprehensive school health programs and prevention of T2DMGiven the rapid rise in obesity among youth, researchers have focused on developing comprehensive programs with the goal of reducing or preventing increases in BMI. A Cochrane review of 64 randomized clinical interventions designed to treat obesity in youth concluded that behavior lifestyle interventions had a significant effect on reducing BMI in youth up to 12 months post-intervention, noting that the most effective interventions combined dietary, physical activity and behavioral components [12]. Schools serve as an excellent venue to provide students with the opportunity for daily physical activity and to teach the importance of regular physical activity and a healthy diet in order to build skills that support active lifestyles [13][14][15] and decrease their risk for T2DM. Schools have access to school nurses who can provide screening, counseling and continuum of care [13][14][15]. In co...

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