Rush, EMcLennan, SObolonkin, VCooper, RHamlin, Michael2017-08-072015-01-142015-06Rush, E., McLennan, S., Obolonkin, V., Cooper, R., & Hamlin, M. (2015). Beyond the randomised controlled trial and BMI – evaluation of effectiveness of through-school nutrition and physical activity programmes. Public Health Nutrition, 18(9), 1578-1581. doi:10.1017/S13689800140033221368-980025998550 (pubmed)https://hdl.handle.net/10182/8395Invited Commentary – Evidence has been slow to accumulate that school physical activity and nutrition interventions are effective at slowing the rate of physical growth and reducing the prevalence of obesity in children. This is in part because of the need for randomised controlled trials (RCT) that meet strict quality criteria. In addition, the focus on BMI-for-age criteria to define obesity and overweight, and therefore the outcome of ‘effective’ interventions, is a pragmatic measure but may be flawed in that the child’s nutritional and functional status may have improved but BMI may not change. For a population, BMI is a measure of energy balance; it is not a measure of the many other factors that are required for optimal growth, development and function. In this commentary we describe a large-scale intervention utilizing an alternative measure of programme effectiveness. We believe the model and measure can be applied in different contexts to evaluate effectiveness of a programme to improve health in children in a school setting.pp.1578-1581Printen© The Authors 2015BMIhealthchildrenchild obesitymonitoringHumansProgram EvaluationMotor ActivityChildSchool Health ServicesNew ZealandFemaleMaleChild Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaJournal Article10.1017/S1368980014003322ANZSRC::111101 Clinical and Sports NutritionANZSRC::111103 Nutritional PhysiologyANZSRC::111104 Public Nutrition InterventionANZSRC::130210 Physical Education and Development Curriculum and Pedagogy1475-2727ANZSRC::32 Biomedical and clinical sciencesANZSRC::42 Health sciences