The nutrition-based comprehensive intervention study on childhood obesity in China (NISCOC): a randomised cluster controlled trial

The study is designed as a multi-centred randomised controlled trial, which included 6 centres located in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shandong province, Heilongjiang province and Guangdong province. Both nutrition education (special developed carton style nutrition education handbook) and physical activity intervention (Happy 10 program) will be applied in all intervention schools of 5 cities except Beijing. In Beijing, nutrition education intervention will be applied in 3 schools and physical activity intervention among another 3 schools. A total of 9750 primary students (grade 1 to grade 5, aged 7-13 years) will participate in baseline and intervention measurements, including weight, height, waist circumference, body composition (bioelectrical impendence device), physical fitness, 3 days dietary record, physical activity questionnaire, blood pressure, plasma glucose and plasma lipid profiles. Data concerning investments will be collected in our study, including costs in staff training, intervention materials, teachers and school input and supervising related expenditure.Present study is the first and biggest multi-center comprehensive childhood obesity intervention study in China. Should the study produce comprehensive results, the intervention strategies would justify a national school-based program to prevent childhood obesity in China.Chinese clinical trial registry (Primary registry in the WHO registry network) Identifier: ChiCTR-TRC-00000402China is facing with the serious obesity epidemic, both in adults and children [1-4], and it even starts to shift to the poor [5], where the public health still focused on under-nutrition. Applying the WHO growth reference (2007) [6], the overweight/obesity and stunting prevalence of Chinese children and adolescents aged 5-19 years was 6.2% and 13.8% [7], respectively. Nearly 30% (China National reference: BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2) [1,8] or 25% (International standard: BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) [3,9] adults were overweight or obese in China