Alberta Project Promoting Active Living and Healthy Eating in Schools

The Effectiveness of a Comprehensive School Health Intervention in Improving Healthy Eating and Physical Activity and Preventing Childhood Obesity

The objectives were to 1) make students eat healthier and be more active; and 2) prevent overweight and obesity. Children will therefore be less likely overweight or obese. Beginning in January 2008, the Alberta Project Promoting active Living and healthy Eating in Schools (APPLE Schools) was implemented in 10 schools throughout the Canadian Province, Alberta. Full-time School Health Facilitators were placed in each of the schools to implement what is know in Canada as Comprehensive School Health (CSH). In the United States, CSH is more commonly referred to as "Coordinated School Health", while the synonymous term "Health Promoting Schools" is often used in Australia and Europe. The project was evaluated annually in the spring from 2008 to 2011 and as of 2009 evaluations included the use of time-stamped pedometers. The comparison group included approximately 150 schools that were randomly selected to reflect the population of Alberta, Canada. Twenty of these randomly selected schools also participated in data collection which involved the use of time-stamped pedometers.

The Alberta Project Promoting active Living and healthy Eating in Schools (APPLE Schools) is a quasi-experimental pre-post trial with a non-equivalent parallel control group. The intervention began in January 2008 and lasted through June 2011 and was implemented school-wide. As out primary interest is to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity in schools, the essential comparisons were across grade five students in differing calendar years. At each survey all grade five students were invited to participate. The current design allowed intervention effects to be assessed over time at the school-level. Surveys were administered in the spring of 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 in intervention schools. And in the spring of 2008 and 2011 in control schools.

Inclusion Criteria:

Intervention Schools:

• school located in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhood and a demonstrated need for health promotion
• Grade five students with parent consent, who also assented to participate were included in annual evaluations

Control Schools:

• Grade five students with parent consent, who also assented to participate were included in annual evaluations

Exclusion Criteria:

Intervention & Control Schools:

• Schools that did not receive jurisdictional approval to participate
• Grade five students who did not receive parent consent or did not provide their assent were not included in annual evaluations