Differential effects of a school-based obesity prevention program: A cluster randomized trial

School-based healthy living interventions are widely promoted as strategies for preventing obesity. The peer-led Healthy Buddies™ curriculum has been shown to improve obesity-related outcomes in school-aged children. We examined whether these improvements existed among subgroups of children stratified by sex, income level and urban/rural geography. In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, elementary schools in Manitoba, Canada, were randomly allocated to Healthy Buddies™ (10 schools, 340 students) or standard curriculum (10 schools, 347 students). Healthy Buddies™ participants had 21weekly lessons on healthy eating, physical activity and self-efficacy, delivered by children age 9-12 to children age 6-8. We assessed pre- and post-intervention body mass index (BMI) z-scores, waist circumference, healthy living knowledge, dietary intake and self-efficacy among the younger children. Compared to standard curriculum (n = 154), Healthy Buddies™ participants (n = 157) experienced a greater reduction in waist circumference (-1.7 cm; 95% confidence interval [CI][-2.8, -0.5 cm]) and improved dietary intake (4.6; 95% CI [0.9, 8.3]), healthy living knowledge (5.9; 95% CI [2.3, 9.5]) and self-efficacy (5.3; 95% CI [1.0, 9.5]) scores. In subgroup analyses, effects for waist circumference (-2.0 cm; 95% CI [-3.6, -0.5]), healthy living knowledge (9.1; 95% CI [4.4, 13.8]) and self-efficacy (8.3; 95% CI [3.3, 13.3]) were significant among boys. Dietary intake (10.5; 95% CI [5.5, 15.4]), healthy living knowledge (9.8; 95% CI [4.5, 15.0]) and self-efficacy (6.7; 95% CI [0.7, 12.7]) improved among urban-dwelling but not rural-dwelling children. Healthy Buddies™ was effective for boys and children living in urban settings. Enhanced curricula may be needed to improve program effectiveness for select subgroups of school-aged children.