Effects of an intervention strategy for school children aimed at reducing overweight and obesity within the State of Mexico

Objective. This study explored the intervention effect of the "Nutrition on the Go" strategy on the prevalence of overweight and obesity (OW+O), according to the role played by different patterns. Materials and methods. Pattern Groups (PG) were determined based on schools' food availability and other variables at individual level: nutrition knowledge, physical activity, socioeconomic level and self-efficacy, using an ecological approach. The PG classification was achieved using Ward's cluster method. Results. The prevalence of OW+O was higher in PGI (intermediate food availability and high socioeconomic index [SEI]) compared to PG 2 (high availability of food and lower SEI) and PG 3 (low availability of food and medium SEI) with a lower prevalence (p<0.00I). The PG-intervention interaction showed differences for PG 3 (p=0.066), the stage-PG interaction showed differences between PGs I and 3 (p=0.014) and between PGs 2 and 3 (p=0.055). Conclusions. Differences between PGs have important implications for the prevalence of OW+O.