Preventing obesity and diabetes in school children

Area Partner Project responsible Duration Project budget WDF contribution Project number

New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, India Diabetes Foundation (India) Prof. Anoop Misra January 2006 - January 2009 USD 175,397 USD 166,097 WDF05-120

Objective

The project seeks to create awareness about diabetes, obesity, lipid disorders and heart disease in children and adolescents through a school-based intervention programme.

Expected impact

• 60 teachers and 120 student volunteers trained
• 6,000 students educated through the project
• 8,500 parents educated through the project
• Approximately 1,000 parents of children with high-risk characteristics reached

Results to date

• 9 schools in New Delhi, 5 schools in Agra and 5 schools in Jaipur have initiated Project “MARG”: The Path
• Data collection: 6,986 ‘Knowledge, Attitude and Practice’ (KAP) surveys have been conducted, anthropometric measurements of height and weight have been undertaken in 30,625 children and 405 teachers
• Sensitisation: 146 lectures have been conducted for 16,333 children, parents and teachers. 13,209 booklets and 32 sets of posters have been distributed. Four public lectures on diabetes prevention related issues have been held
• Training: 56 student volunteers and 38 teachers have been trained
• 28 times individualized dietary and physical activity counselling have been imparted
• Activities: Poster-making, cookery activities, drama and quiz competitions, debates and talks have been organised in the schools, disseminating information on importance of nutrition and physical exercise. A walk to prevent Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Diseases was organised; more than 2,500 people, including school children, teachers, principals, elderly people, doctors, sports personalities etc actively participated in the 2-hour walk
• In addition to the originally planned targets, 50 additional schools have been included in the programme (14 Delhi public schools and 36 Kendriya Vidyalaya Schools). Data collection is not done in these schools

Additional information on the project can be found here.

This page was last updated 3-4-2008 by sfh.wdf