The development, feasibility and acceptability of a school-based obesity prevention programme: results from three phases of piloting

Abstract

Objectives To develop a school-based obesity prevention programme and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and the planned definitive cluster randomised trial. Design This was a three stage pilot involving six schools (398 children) in South West England, including an exploratory randomised controlled trial and qualitative interviews and focus groups with teachers, parents and children. Intervention The Healthy Lifestyle Programme uses a range of school-based activities including lessons, assemblies, parents' evenings, interactive drama workshops and goal setting to engage schools, children and their families. Results Of the 398 eligible children in the three pilot phases, only four opted out and a further three withdrew from the exploratory trial. In the exploratory trial, baseline measurements (anthropometric and behavioural) were obtained for 202/204 eligible children in four schools and both 18- and 24-month outcome measurements for 193/204 and 187/204 participants, respectively. Qualitative data show that delivery of the intervention is feasible within schools and acceptable to teachers, children and families. In the exploratory trial, 18/80 children (24%) in the intervention schools and 31/122 (26%) in the control schools were overweight or obese at baseline, increasing, at 18-month follow-up, to 38/119 (32%) in the control schools compared with 18/74 (24%) in the intervention schools. At 24 months the proportion of overweight and obese children in the control schools remained at 32% (36/114), whereas the proportion in the intervention schools decreased slightly to 22% (16/73). Conclusion The Healthy Lifestyle Programme is feasible to deliver and acceptable to schools, children and their families. We recruited, retained and obtained outcome measurements from 92% of eligible children in the exploratory trial, including measurements taken after transition to secondary school, suggesting that a definitive trial is likely to be deliverable.