Who should be educated? Education strategies: could children educate theirparents?

The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) concluded that the prevention o f weight gain is easier, less expensive and more effective than treating ob esity after it has fully developed. The objective of prevention programmes is to reduce the exposure of populations to the environmental causes of obe sity. Public health prevention is based on education and behavioural change s aiming at promoting physical activity and a less energy dense diet. Effec tive management of overweight in children proved to reduce the number who c arry their weight problems into adulthood. It has been proposed that school could play an important role in encouraging healthy eating habits, School- based prevention strategies consider the child as the target of the educati on programme. A complementary approach considers that the child could play an active Pole in the transmission of the message of prevention. It is the hypothesis of a prospective intervention study in northern France, the 'Fle urbaix-Laventie-Ville-Sante' Study, that nutritional education of children aged 6-12 y at school may not only improve their nutritional knowledge but also influence the dietary habits of the family. Preliminary results indica te that the education programme resulted in encouraging changes in dietary habits, mainly a decreased intake of lipid-rich foods in the family. The ef fects on body weight evolution remain to be evaluated. The study is in prog ress with a 10-year follow-up.