Elizabeth Milne ^1*, Julie A. Simpson ², Robyn Johnston ³, BIllie Giles-Corti ⁴, Dallas R. English ²

¹ Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
² Cancer Epidemiology Centre, The Cancer Council Victoria
³ School of Nursing and Public Health, Edith Cowan University
⁴ The University of Western Australia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lizm{at}ichr.uwa.edu.au.

	Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine whether, by reducing the time spent outdoors in the middle of the day, the Kidskin sun protection intervention increased children’s BMI. METHODS: Kidskin involved 1,614 Australian children assigned to one of three groups: a Control, Moderate or High intervention group. Control schools received the standard health curriculum, while intervention schools received a multi-component intervention. Outcomes included time outdoors and nevus development. Height and weight were measured at three time-points. BMI was transformed into age- and sex-specific z-scores; z-scores at each age were modeled simultaneously. Time outdoors at ages ten and 12 were analyzed using linear mixed effects modeling. RESULTS: The proportion of children who were overweight or obese increased with age. The Moderate intervention and Control groups had a minimal increase in z-score over time, and the z-score for the High intervention group decreased over time. There were no differences among groups with respect to total time outdoors at any age. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to reduce the time children spend outdoors when UVR is high, without producing an unfavorable impact on children’s BMI.

Key Words: School Health, Epidemiology, Exercise/Physical Activity, Obesity, Overweight, Underweight, Public Health Practice