Cities for Better Health Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative in JAPAN

Summary

The goal of this interventional study is to prevent childhood obesity in children aged 6-12 years in Chiba City, Japan. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does the multi-component intervention for environments around children reduce the BMI z-score of children aged 6-12 years after one and two years?
* Does the multi-component intervention for environments around children improve the health-related quality of life (assessed by KIDSCREEN-10) of children aged 6-12 years after one and two years?

Researchers will compare school clusters receiving the intervention to control clusters to see if the intervention package promotes healthy eating, increases physical activity, improves health-related quality of life, and reduces obesity prevalence.

Participants will:

* Attend elementary schools within participating clusters (either the intervention or control group).
* Have baseline data collected, with follow-up assessments after one year and two years.
* Potentially participate in school-based programs (nutrition education, physical activity promotion) and community-based initiatives (park activation, supermarkets) if in an intervention cluster.
* Have their physical activity and dietary behavior assessed through self-report questionnaires.

Conditions

• Quality of Life (QOL)
• Nutrition
• Physical Activity
• Obesity
• Childhood Obesity

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Multi-level, Multi-component Intervention Package

The CBH COPI intervention applies multi-level strategies to improve children's environments and foster healthy behaviors. In schools, activities include schoolyard enhancements (e.g., hopscotch), inter-school sports events, nutrition lectures, healthy snacks, and educational materials linking health and academics. In parks and roads, improvements include cycling/walking promotions, signage, healthier vending machines, and community events. Supermarkets support healthy choices through menu information, loyalty incentives, cooking classes, product placement, and healthy food sales. At home and in communities, the Min-Challe app supports habit formation, with athletes, mascots, and ambassadors promoting healthy living. The coordinated program aims to naturally promote healthy eating, physical activity, and sustained lifestyle change among children aged 6-12 in Chiba City.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Novo Nordisk A/S

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• The Behavioural Insights Team

  collaborator OTHER

• Delivery Associates

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Chiba University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

6 Years

Max Age

12 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-07-31

Primary Completion

2027-09-30

Completion

2027-09-30

Countries

• Japan

Study Locations