Effectiveness of intervention programs in schools to reduce health risk factors in adolescents: a systematic review

Abstract

The aim of this study was to systematically review studies on intervention programs involving physical activity promotion and/or nutritional education to reduce health-related risk factors (overweight/obesity and metabolic profilealterations) in Brazilian adolescent students. A search was performed in the following electronic databases: Medline (PubMed), Lilacs, Embase, Scielo and Capes Thesis Database. A total of 1,568 studies were identified, of which 21 full papers were analyzed and 5 were included in the systematic review. The majority of the studies involved physical activity practice combined with nutritional education in Brazilian adolescent students and all interventions showed positive effect on reducing health-related risk factors among Brazilian adolescents.It was concluded that all studies included in this review showed positive alterations in healthrelated risk factors after interventions, reinforcing the importance of intervention programs to promote a healthier lifestyle and reduce health-related risk factors in adolescents.