PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN REDUCING OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT AMONG BASIC SCHOOL STUDENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background: The prevalence of obesity and overweight among children and adolescents has increased globally. Research in Iraq reported an increase in the rate of obesity and overweight among the Iraqi population. In a study of 620 students in basic school, the prevalence of overweight and obese students in Baghdad rose to 30.3%. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of parental education interventions through specific education programs to reduce obesity and overweight in basic school students. Materials & Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Sulaimani governorate of the Kurdistan region/Iraq among 15 basic schools. A total of 300 students aged 6 through 15 years, 150 in the intervention group and 150 in the comparison group, who were obese or overweight, were enrolled in this study. Participants were selected by applying stratified multistage cluster sampling from a total of 647 schools, and students were selected according to a probability proportional to the size. The intervention process included two parental education sessions focused on improving eating habits and physical activity of students. Data collection included anthropometric measurements, dietary habits, daily time spent on digital devices, and physical activity at the beginning and end of the school year. Results: A significant change in body mass index (BMI) was observed between the groups at the end of the intervention; 1.16 kg/m(2) was reduced in the intervention group and 0.58 kg/m(2) in the comparison group, P <= 0.001. There was a significant change in the mean waist circumference (WC) between the groups: (-3.49) centimeters (cm) in the intervention group and (-2.52) cm in the comparison group (P = 0.05). After the follow-up, the baseline intervention group's total mean physical activity score was 27.66 +/- 9.58 and significantly increased to 30.78 +/- 7.80 at the end of the year. While in the comparison groups, it increased from 27.58 +/- 8.51 to 28.00 +/- 7.32. Conclusion: Parental participation in education programs positively affected body mass index, dietary habits, and physical activity of obese and overweight students in basic school and lead to reducing body weight of students.