Childhood Obesity Prevention Trough Education Innovation in Primary School: A Quasi-experimental Trial

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study evaluates the effect of the education innovation programchiquichefs on anthropometric variables, quality of life and nutritional habits in an elementary school children. Compared with a control group of the same age but in another school.

Detailed Description
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Childhood obesity is recognized as both the most prevalent health problem in the western world and as a global epidemic. It has an multifactorial aetiology. Obesity in children has been attributed to decrease in physical activity and the overconsumption of cheap energy dense food. Spain has one of the highest prevalence rates of overweight and obese children among OECD countries. Health promotion and prevention strategies in community settings are in general most effective where they engage with social networks and build social capital to enable community ownership and embedding strategies. This is particularly the case for health promotion at primary school, as social institutions within a community setting that represent a complex system with direct an indirect community relationship and social networks. One of the best methods to prevent childhood obesity is to follow the Mediterranean diet. Especially in Mediterranean countries for the ease of access to essential products of this diet. Chiquichefs is a methodology of project-based learning using healthy through cooking as the core of the curriculum, so children learn the academic content through cooking workshop in their school. A quasi-experimental study was developed, for which children of the intervention schools (n = 75) in a public spanish school is compared with children of a control schools (n = 75) in the same region. The interventions started in october 2015. In the intervention school, a whole-school approach named chiquichefs is implemented with the aim of improving culinary skills and dietary behaviour. The chiquichefs project ideas is to make the kitchen the central pillar of the curriculum for several years. So children will learn to cook during school hours -- and not as an after-school activity -- and along the way they will also be taught the core content. They'll do maths counting chick peas, study the recipes of literature, the geography of food, work out the boiling point of soups and learn the anatomy of cattle. With this project, we aim to deliver the core educational requirements, teach kids to cook and lay the foundations for them to benefit from a healthier diet throughout their lives. We're going conduct a scientific study to measure the impact on the children's health and education in the hope of eventually persuading others to follow our lead. We are going to measure the anthropometric variables, the adherence to mediterranean diet and the quality of life of all participants before and after the chiquichefs program.

Official Title
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Childhood Obesity Prevention Trough the CHIQUICHEFS Program of Education Innovation and Cooking in a Primary School: A Quasi Experimental Study

Conditions
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Childhood Obesity, Dietary Habits, Quality of Life

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: chiquichefs


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All children and their caregivers enrolled at the participating schools and that agree to sign informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: None except not agreement to sign the informed consent.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 7 Years
Maximum Age: 11 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: School intervention<br>chiquichefs education innovation | Behavioral: chiquichefs<br>* A project based learning using healthy trough cooking as the core of the curriculum, so children learn the academic content through cooking workshop of mediterranean diet in their school.<br>|
| No Intervention: control school<br>A primary schools will function as control schools. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Child absolute change in BMI Z-score, based on weight and height | Weight is measured using a weighing scale, to the nearest 0.1 kg; height is measured using a measuring rod, to the nearest 0.1 cm. These two measurements are used to calculate the BMI, BMI was compared this with the graphics BMI standardized for Spanish population ( kg/m2). | 1 year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adherence to mediterranean diet | kidmed index questionnaire at the beginning and end of the project | 1 year | 
| Quality of life | kidscreen-10 questionnaire at the beginning and end of the project | 1 year |