Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40495256›Full record

SynthesisSystematic reviews2025

Which school-based interventions work better to combat obesity in children? A network meta-analysis.

Bahareh Nikooyeh, Zahra Yari, Zahra Hariri, Ghazal Baghdadi, Hootan Yazdani, Mohammad Esmail Motlagh, Tirang R Neyestani

Abstract readNetwork Meta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Systematic reviews, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Bahareh NikooyehDepartment of Nutrition Research, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Instituteand, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran.
Zahra YariDepartment of Nutrition Research, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Instituteand, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran.
Zahra HaririDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute and Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ghazal BaghdadiDepartment of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Iran , University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hootan YazdaniDepartment of Nutrition Research, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Instituteand, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Esmail MotlaghDepartment of Pediatrics, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Tirang R NeyestaniDepartment of Nutrition Research, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Instituteand, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran. neytr@yahoo.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdolescent obesity is linked to a higher risk of becoming obese adults and developing chronic diseases. School-based interventions, focusing on nutritional education and physical activity (PA), are crucial for preventing childhood obesity. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions using network meta-analysis.

methodsWe searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for studies on school-based obesity interventions. Interventions included behavioral, nutritional, and physical activity components. Network meta-analysis (NMA) employed random-effects models, generating network plots. Surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) ranked intervention efficacy.

resultsSixty-one studies were included. School-based interventions significantly reduced body mass index z-score (z-BMI; mean difference [MD]: - 0.06; 95% CI: - 0.1, - 0.03) and BMI (MD: - 0.351; 95% CI: - 0.566, - 0.135). NMA indicated that combined interventions, PA + health education (HE) + school policy (SP), were more effective in reducing BMI than HE alone (MD: - 0.61; 95% CI: - 1.2, - 0.02). SUCRA rankings highlighted PA + HE + SP and PA alone as the most effective interventions in reducing BMI and z-BMI, respectively.

conclusionSchool-based interventions are effective long-term strategies for managing childhood obesity. Combining PA, HE, and SP showed the highest efficacy in reducing BMI. Meanwhile, intervention duration and parental involvement did not show any significant additional effect, necessitating further prospective studies.

Indexed as

ExerciseHealth EducationHealth PromotionPediatric ObesitySchool Health ServicesAdolescentBody Mass IndexChildHumansSchoolsNetwork meta-analysisObesityOverweightSchool-based intervention

Identifiers

PMID40495256
PMCPMC12150473

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.