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Cited by 44Obesity, Physical Activity, DietSchool Health and Nursing EducationNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

School-Based Interventions Targeting Nutrition and Physical Activity, and Body Weight Status of African Children: A Systematic Review

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Adom, Theodosia, De Villiers, Anniza, Puoane, Thandi, Kengne, André Pascal·2019·Nutrients
DOI 10.3390/nu12010095PMC PMC7019429
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Abstract

Background: Overweight/obesity is an emerging health concern among African children. The aim of this study was to summarise available evidence from school-based interventions that focused on improving nutrition and physical activity knowledge, attitude, and behaviours, and weight status of children aged 6–15 years in the African context. Methods: Multiple databases were searched for studies evaluating school-based interventions of African origin that involved diet alone, physical activity alone, or multicomponent interventions, for at least 12 weeks in duration, reporting changes in either diet, physical activity, or body composition, and published between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2018. No language restrictions were applied. Relevant data from eligible studies were extracted. Narrative synthesis was used to analyse and describe the data. Results: This systematic review included nine interventions comprising 10 studies. Studies were conducted among 9957 children and adolescents in two African countries, namely South Africa and Tunisia, and were generally of low methodological quality. The sample size at baseline ranged from 28 to 4003 participants. Two interventions reported enrolling children from both urban and rural areas. The majority of the study participants were elementary or primary school children and adolescents in grades 4 to 6. Participants were between the ages of 12.4 and 13.5 years. All but one intervention targeted children of both sexes. Four studies were described as randomised control trials, while five were pre- and post-test quasi-experiments. Except for one study that involved the community as a secondary setting, all were primarily school-based studies. The duration of the interventions ranged from four months to three years. The interventions focused largely on weight-related behaviours, while a few targeted weight status. The results of the effectiveness of these interventions were inconsistent: three of five studies that evaluated weight status (body mass index (BMI), BMI z-score, overweight/obesity prevalence), three of six studies that reported physical activity outcomes (number of sports activities, and physical activity duration ≥ 30 min for at least six days/week), and four of six reporting on nutrition-related outcomes (number meeting fruit and vegetable intake ≥ 5 times/day) found beneficial effects of the interventions. Conclusion: Given the dearth of studies and the inconsistent results, definite conclusions about the overall effectiveness and evidence could not be made. Nonetheless, this study has identified research gaps in the childhood obesity literature in Africa and strengthened the need for further studies, the findings of which would contribute valuable data and inform policy.

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Authors
Adom, T., De Villiers, A., Puoane, T., & Kengne, A. P.
Affiliations
  • Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GH)
  • Division of Research Capacity Development, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
  • University of the Western Cape (ZA)
  • South African Medical Research Council (ZA)
Corresponding author
Adom, Theodosia
ORCID
Venue
Nutrients
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2019-12-30
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
95
ISSN
2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/nu12010095
PMC
PMC7019429
OpenAlex
W2998156620
Cited by
44
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 1
FWCI
0.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • UWC Research Repository (University of the Western Cape) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
school-based intervention, childhood obesity, childhood overweight, nutrition education, physical activity promotion, weight status, body mass index, fruit and vegetable intake, multicomponent intervention, African children, South Africa, Tunisia, research gaps
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Body Weight, Child, Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Female, Humans, Male, Nutritional Status, School Health Services, South Africa, Tunisia, Exercise

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