title: Improving weight status in childhood: results from the eat well be active community programs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The eat well be active Community Programs (ewba) aimed to prevent obesity among children aged 0-18 years in two Australian communities from 2006 to 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  ewba was a multi-strategy intervention in children's settings. The evaluation was quasi-experimental, including a before and after survey with intervention (INT) and non-randomised comparison (COMP) communities. Outcome measures included BMI-z score (zBMI) and overweight/obesity prevalence in children aged 4-5 years; and zBMI, waist circumference (WC) z-score and overweight/obesity prevalence in children aged10-12 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 3 years, among the 4-5 years old, mean zBMI was significantly lower in both INT (-0.20, p < 0.05) and COMP (-0.15, p < 0.05), however, changes were not significantly different between INT and COMP. There was a larger reduction in overweight/obesity prevalence in INT (-6.3 %) compared to COMP (-3.7 %) (p < 0.05, χ (2) test). In the 10-12 years old, mean zBMI did not change significantly in INT or COMP. There was a significant reduction in WC z-score in INT (-0.17, p < 0.05) but not in COMP (-0.10, p = NS), although not significantly different between INT and COMP (p = 0.092).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the ewba community intervention had a moderate impact, showing modest improvements in weight status at 3-year follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia, tpettman@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Tahna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pettman
authors.forename: Anthea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Magarey
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mastersson
authors.forename: Annabelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dollman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019058:Community Networks; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*