Bewegungs- und Ernährungsintervention bei Schulkindern zur Prävention von Übergewicht und Adipositas – Ergebnisse des Wiener EDDY-Präventionsprojekts

Background: Overweight and obesity are among the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. Currently, about one third of children in Austria are affected by overweight and obesity. The Viennese prevention project EDDY (Effect of sports and diet trainings to prevent obesity and secondary diseases and to influence young children´s lifestyle) examined the effects of a nutrition and exercise intervention on obesity markers, motor skills and quality of life in three Viennese primary schools. Methodology: As part of the EDDY prevention project 138 children (age: 8.1 ± 0.6 years) from 3 Viennese primary schools were examined and included in the study between September 2022 and June 2024. The intervention group (IG) received 2h of weekly education on nutrition or exercise. Control group 1 (CG1) received no additional intervention, whereas control group 2 (CG2) participated in two additional external exercise sessions of 60 min per week in addition to school sports. The primary outcome measures after 2 years included changes in body mass index (BMI), BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS), total body fat percentage (TBF%), motor skills assessed using the German Motor Test (GMT) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Continuous variables are presented as median (interquartile range, IQR). Results: In the IG (n = 48) the BMI-SDS remained stable (−0.1 [−0.3; 0.3], p = 0.62), TBF% showed a minimal nonsignificant reduction (−0.9% [−2.3; 1.9], p = 0.28), HRQoL significantly improved (+10 points, p = 0.005) and motor skills were above average (GMT z‑score: 102 [94; 107]). In CG1 (n = 38) the BMI-SDS remained unchanged (0 [−0.3; 0.2], p = 0.55), TBF% slightly decreased but not significantly (−1.1% [−2.6; 2.3], p = 0.37), with no significant HRQoL improvement (p = 0.21). The CG2 (n = 52) showed BMI-SDS stabilization (−0.1 [−0.3; 0.2], p = 0.37), a significant reduction in TBF% (−1.3% [−2.5; 0.7], p = 0.003), a significant HRQoL improvement (+5.1 points, p = 0.02) and GMT scores (z-score: 101 [98; 107]) above the norm values. The CG1 scored significantly lower in GMT (z-score: 96 [87; 107], p = 0.002). Conclusion: The interdisciplinary approach combining exercise and nutrition education improves the quality of life and motor skills. While BMI-SDS did not show any significant change, increased physical activity led to a significant reduction in TBF%. The IG had lower initial TBF% values, which should be considered when interpreting the results. Schools play a key role in integrating physical activity and healthy nutrition into everyday life. Lifestyle changing measures should be investigated in the long term and optimized by involving parents and teachers.