سامانه کنگره های دانشگاه علوم پزشکی و خدمات بهداشتی و درمانی آذربایجان غربی

صفحه اصلی / بیستمین همایش سالیانه بیماری های شایع گوارش و کبد کودکان ایران و دومین همایش بین المللی چاقی کودکان

The effectiveness of life skills training in schools on preventing obesity and promoting psychological self-efficacy in overweight children

نویسندگان :

MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN ROUDBARI¹

1- دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد بین المللی کیش

کلمات کلیدی :

Life skills،childhood obesity،psychological self-efficacy،schools

چکیده :

Background and Objective: Obesity in overweight children can lead to reduced psychological self-efficacy and increased risk of physical and mental problems. Life skills training in schools has been proposed as a preventive approach for weight management and strengthening psychological self-confidence. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of life skills training in schools on preventing obesity and promoting psychological self-efficacy in overweight children. Research Method: This study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design and a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included overweight children aged 9 to 13 (body mass index above the 85th percentile) in elementary schools in Kerman. From this population, 38 children were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental (19 people) and control (19 people) groups. The experimental group underwent life skills training (including emotion management, decision-making, and nutritional skills) for 8 weeks (2 60-minute sessions per week). The research instruments included the Children's Psychological Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES) and body mass index (BMI) measurement. Data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Research findings: The results showed that life skills training was significantly (p<0.01) effective in preventing weight gain and improving psychological self-efficacy in the experimental group. The mean BMI in the experimental group decreased from 25.9 at pre-test to 24.5 at post-test, and psychological self-efficacy scores increased from 42.3 to 58.6, while no significant changes were observed in the control group. Also, improvements were reported in the ability to manage stress and make healthy food choices. Conclusion: Life skills training in schools can be used as an effective strategy to prevent obesity and improve psychological self-efficacy in overweight children. These findings emphasize the need to integrate these programs into the educational system and suggest that future research should examine the long-term effects of these interventions.