A School-Based Intervention for Diabetes Risk Reduction

To the Editor: The HEALTHY Study Group (July 29 issue)¹ found that a school-based intervention did not result in greater decreases in overweight and obesity than those seen in control schools but did result in significantly greater reductions in some indexes of adiposity. Recent views seem to overlook the role of increasing energy expenditure to prevent obesity. Purportedly definitive statements such as “. . . at best, behavioral and nutrition interventions in schools or within the home have limited success in preventing weight gain in children”² and “. . . cigarette smoking remains by far the most common cause of preventable death and disability . . .