Tackling weight and eating problems in Spanish schools

More and more teenagers have problems with eating and weight, either because they are too fat or because they show signs of developing an eating disorder. Universal prevention programmes are ones which involve boys and girls and are given to everyone in a particular school or year. They aim to improve pupil's body image, their knowledge of eating disorders and reduce shape and weight concern. Researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona studied 443 children. 201 formed a control group while 143 took part in a media-literacy programme and 99 in the media-literacy and a nutrition-awareness one as well. The children's attitudes to eating, body weight and nutrition were assessed a month, seven months and 30 months after the programmes. The children who had taken part in both programmes had 'healthier' scores on the assessments than those who hadn't.

Gonzalez, Marcela ... [et al] - Disordered eating prevention programme in schools: a 30-month follow up European Eating Disorders Review DOI: 10.1002/erv.1102