The impact of Action Schools! BC on the health of Aboriginal children and youth living in rural and remote communities in British Columbia

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the short-term impact of a 7-month whole-school physical activity and healthy eating intervention (Action Schools! BC) over the 2007–2008 school year for children and youth in 3 remote First Nations villages in northwestern British Columbia. STUDY DESIGN: A pre-experimental pre/post design was conducted with 148 children and youth (77 males, 71 females; age 12.5±2.2 yrs). METHODS: We evaluated changes in obesity (body mass index [wt/ht(2)] and waist circumference z-scores: zBMI and zWC), aerobic fitness (20-m shuttle run), physical activity (PA; physical activity questionnaire and accelerometry), healthy eating (dietary recall) and cardiovascular risk (CV risk). RESULTS: zBMI remained unchanged while zWC increased from 0.46±1.07 to 0.57±1.04 (p<0.05). No change was detected in PA or CV risk but aerobic fitness increased by 22% (25.4±15.8 to 30.9±20.0 laps; p<0.01). There was an increase in the variety of vegetables consumed (1.10±1.18 to 1.45±1.24; p<0.05) but otherwise no dietary changes were detected. CONCLUSIONS: While no changes were seen in PA or overall CV risk, zWC increased, zBMI remained stable and aerobic fitness improved during a 7-month intervention.