Effectiveness of a Socioecological School-Based 24-h Movement Behaviour Intervention on Lifestyle Behaviours Among Children and Adolescents With Overweight or Obesity: A Gender-Stratified Quasi-Experimental Study.
Tanveer M, Yujun C, et al. • Pediatric obesity • 2026
A 12-week multicomponent, socioecological, school-based intervention effectively improved movement behaviours, dietary habits, parental support and outcomes related to overweight and obesity among Pakistani children and adolescents, in both boys and girls.
Key Findings
Results
The intervention produced significant group-by-time interactions for physical activity, screen time, sleep duration and fast-food consumption.
Effect sizes were η2 = 0.28 for physical activity, 0.15 for screen time, 0.16 for sleep duration and 0.07 for fast-food consumption (all p < 0.001).
Analyses used repeated-measures ANOVA and general linear mixed models (p < 0.05).
The study was a 12-week quasi-experimental cluster-controlled trial in eight public schools in Lahore, Pakistan, with 1200 participants (intervention n = 570; control n = 630).
Results
The prevalence of overweight and obesity declined in the intervention group but rose in the control group.
Prevalence fell from 31.0% to 28.0% in the intervention group.
Prevalence rose from 36.0% to 38.0% in the control group (p = 0.005).
Results
Adherence to physical activity guidelines increased markedly in both boys and girls.
Among boys, adherence rose from 26.3% to 71.8% (p < 0.001).
Among girls, adherence rose from 22.2% to 63.3% (p < 0.001).
The sample comprised 577 boys and 623 girls aged 9-17 years.
Results
The intervention group showed significant reductions in adiposity-related anthropometric measures.
Significant reductions were observed in BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio in the intervention group.
Conclusions
The intervention improved dietary habits and parental support alongside movement behaviours.
Fast-food consumption showed a significant group-by-time interaction (η2 = 0.07, p < 0.001).
The authors conclude that parental support improved, consistent with the intervention's parental engagement component.
Methods
The intervention was socioecologically grounded and multicomponent, targeting 24-h movement behaviours in a gender-stratified design.
Components included enhanced physical education, extracurricular physical activity, health education, parental engagement and supportive school environments.
Results were reported separately for boys and girls, and the authors conclude findings support school- and family-based strategies for both genders.
What This Means
This study tested a 12-week program in eight public schools in Lahore, Pakistan, aimed at children and adolescents aged 9-17 with overweight or obesity. The program combined more and better physical education, after-school activity, health education, involvement of parents and a more supportive school environment. About 570 students took part in the program and 630 served as a comparison group.
Students in the program became more physically active, spent less time on screens, slept longer and ate less fast food compared with the comparison group. The share of students meeting physical activity guidelines rose from about 26% to 72% in boys and from 22% to 63% in girls. The proportion of students with overweight or obesity fell slightly (31% to 28%) in the program group, while it rose (36% to 38%) in the comparison group. Measures such as BMI and waist circumference also improved in the program group.
This research suggests that school programs that involve families and address activity, screen time, sleep and diet together may help prevent childhood obesity for both boys and girls. Because schools were not randomly assigned and the program lasted only 12 weeks, the findings do not show whether the benefits last over time.
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Tanveer M, Yujun C, Badicu G, Khan J, Batrakoulis A, Asghar E, et al.. (2026). Effectiveness of a Socioecological School-Based 24-h Movement Behaviour Intervention on Lifestyle Behaviours Among Children and Adolescents With Overweight or Obesity: A Gender-Stratified Quasi-Experimental Study.. Pediatric obesity. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.70160