# Examining Obesity Declines Among School Children: The Role of Changes in the Food and Physical Activity Environments

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIV OF N.J. · 2020 · $701,565

## Abstract

Project Summary
 The proposed project is designed to identify alterable factors in the food and physical activity
(PA) environment that contribute to declines in obesity rates among school children. Childhood
obesity has been associated with higher risk for cardiovascular disease both during childhood and
later as adults. While overall obesity rates remain high in the US, there have been promising reports
of declines among specific subgroups across the country. Yet, little is known about the causes of
such declines. This project aims to identify changes in the food and PA environments in schools and
the surrounding communities that predict sustained obesity declines over time among a panel of K-12
schools, and explore whether these predictors differ by race/ethnicity, age, and gender of students.
The project will also identify those community- and school-level changes that are most common
among schools with sustained obesity declines and examine whether the distinguishing changes
differ by race/ethnicity, age, and gender. The study will prospectively follow 120 schools (30,000
students/year) over the eight-year study period. Building on our pilot data and established rapport
with school nurses, professionally measured heights, weights, and demographic data on students will
be collected at four time points. At parallel times, school nurses will be surveyed to identify changes
in food and PA environments in the schools (e.g., salad bars, drinking water in cafeterias, recess) and
changes in the food and PA environment surrounding schools will be documented (e.g., new /
renovated parks and trails and upgraded corner stores). Changes will be geocoded to establish
proximity to schools. The Impact of our proposed research derives from our having identified schools
for study that have experienced declines and increases in obesity rates and our ability to identify
alterable factors in the environment that can be linked to obesity trends among varied age, gender,
and race/ethnicity groups. The findings will provide critical evidence for developing tailored
community and school interventions for reducing the burden of childhood obesity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994998
- **Project number:** 5R01HL137814-04
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIV OF N.J.
- **Principal Investigator:** Punam Ohri-Vachaspati
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $701,565
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-15 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994998

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994998, Examining Obesity Declines Among School Children: The Role of Changes in the Food and Physical Activity Environments (5R01HL137814-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994998. Licensed CC0.

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