ABSTRACT
Background Childhood obesity predisposes to adult obesity and increases the risk of many diseases. Schools provide a vehicle to deliver public
health interventions to all children.
Methods Medline and Embase were used to undertake a systematic review of published studies of school-based interventions aimed at
reducing the body mass index (BMI) of children 18 years. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines were
followed, and eligible studies subjected to a random effects meta-analysis