The Effect of Eight-week Physical Activity with School-family Interaction Approach on the Social Development and Body Mass Index among Children with Obesity: A Pilot Study

In addition to increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity could cause social and emotional problems among children. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of physical activity with the approach of school and family interaction on social development and body mass index among children with obesity.

The present study was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and a control group. Thirty 9-11-year-old male students with a body mass index (BMI) above 32.5 who were studying in the city of Babol in 2018-2019 academic year were randomly selected and divided into two control and experimental groups. First, pre-tests were performed for both groups. BMI was calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height squared in meters. Students' weight was measured with a minimum of clothing and with a Seca digital scale with a measuring sensitivity of 0.1 kg. The Wildland Scale was used to assess social skills. The Wildland Scale was standardized in Iran, with a total validity of 0.86 and reliability of 0.89. The experimental group participated in forty 90-minute training sessions and the control group engaged only in daily activities. At the end of the intervention, post-test was performed for both groups. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance at the error level of 0.05 with SPSS software version 19.

In the experimental group, the mean (SD) body mass index decreased from 33.5 (0.97) in the pre-test to 32.7 (0.92) in the post-test, P˂0.001. In the control group, the mean (SD) BMI increased from 33.1 (0.37) in the pre-test to 33.6 (0.36) in the post-test, which was not significantly different. In addition, in the experimental group, the mean (SD) of social growth increased from 28.9 (3.6) in the pre-test to 51.7 (7.1) in the post-test (P<0.001). In the control group, the mean (standard deviation) of social growth increased from 29.9 (4.3) in the pre-test to 35.2 (10.7) in the post-test, which was not significantly different.

The study showed that physical activity with the approach of school-family interaction significantly improved social development and reduced body mass index among boys with obesity.