Healthy lifestyle interventions within the curriculum in school-age children: systematic review and meta-analysis.

This article systematically reviews and meta-analyzes school-based interventions integrating nutrition and physical activity (PA) lessons into primary education curricula to address childhood obesity. Including 12 studies with 8,863 children, the review found that curriculum-based interventions combined with homework and family materials significantly improved nutrition knowledge, attitudes toward fruit, vegetable, and water consumption, increased PA, and reduced consumption of ultraprocessed products and sugar-sweetened beverages. A meta-analysis of four studies showed a high-certainty overall mean reduction of −0.14 in body mass index (BMI) Z-score among children receiving these interventions. The findings suggest that embedding nutrition and PA education within school curricula can positively influence children's health behaviors and anthropometric outcomes, supporting the role of schools in promoting healthy lifestyles.