Same BMI, better health: Still fat but a whole lot fitter

An intervention in a Pune school, conducted over a five-year period, had a remarkable impact on students struggling with their expanding waistlines.

5 min readOct 3, 2015 12:00 AM IST

bmi, high bmi, body mass index, fat, fat children, fatness in children, obesity, obesity in children, obese, obese children, health news

Researchers introduced fitness tests, dietary changes, made sports a scoring subject and banned hawkers from selling fast food. (Source: Express Photo)

Some simple steps introduced in a school, to help the rising number of students struggling with their weight, ended up making them a whole lot fitter.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at Symbiosis school in Pune and KEM hospital tried to find out whether these steps — fitness tests, diet control, grading sports as an academic subject and banning hawkers from selling food items outside the school —helped overweight students in any way.

While the students’ body mass index (BMI) didn’t change much, these steps helped them reduce their waist circumference and get fitter.

Multiple changes were introduced in the ‘culture’ of a school and maintained over a five-year period, between 2006 and 2011, to improve the children’s fitness and health. Researchers found that at the end of the five-year intervention, the students were still fat, but they were much fitter.

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Published online in the October issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ)’s Archives of Diseases in Childhood, researchers Dr Sheela Bhave, Dr Rajiv Yeravdekar and others have shown that schools need to step up the number of physical education classes and expose students to a variety of fitness tests to ensure children are fit.

In several Indian cities, over 10 per cent of school children are overweight or obese. Factors including a strong emphasis on academic performance (children often attend extra tuition classes outside school), a perception that physical exercise is unimportant, and the popularity of energy-dense foods, contribute to this problem.

At Symbiosis school in Pune, researchers provided intervention to 400 children, who were in Std III and IV in 2005-06. They were assessed over a period of five years, till they reached Std VIII and Std IX, in 2010-2011.

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“We increased the number of physical education classes from two to five a week, made it a scoring subject, removed hawkers selling fast food near the school and made school meals a lot healthier,” said Dr Rajiv Yeravdekar, dean of Faculty of Health Sciences, Symbiosis International University, and a researcher in the study.

Researchers also analysed the changes among overweight students over a five-year period in another school in Nashik, where no such intervention was provided.

After five years, students at the Pune school — where interventions were provided — were found to be fitter than their counterparts in Nashik in activities like running, long jumps, sit-ups and push-ups, explained lead researcher Dr Bhave, from the paediatrics department of KEM Hospital and Research Centre. These children reported that they spent less time watching TV and more time playing sports. They also ate fruits more often.

“The intervention did not help reduce the body mass index (BMI) or the prevalence of obesity — as children today have greater access to fast food. However, the waist circumference was significantly lower in children of the Pune school than the ones in the Nashik school. This study proved that it was possible to achieve multiple changes promoting good health in an academically competitive school,” added Bhave.

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He added that the parents of the students as well as their teachers seemed to focus more on their academic achievements than their health.

“We realised that parents were more concerned about children’s academic performances than their health and fitness. It took time to implement changes in their physical activities and motivate them to participate. In comparison, dietary improvements were made fairly easily. We hoped that teachers would pass on healthy lifestyle information to the children, but this was unrealistic. They were too busy with academic priorities, upon which they are judged,” said Bhave.

The tests required minimal equipment and were developed by Agashe College of Physical Education in Pune. They were designed to test endurance, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and flexibility. They comprised a 9-min walk or run, sit-ups, push-ups, a sit-and-reach test, a shuttle run and a standing long jump.

Other steps included introducing daily pranayam sessions and adding physical education marks to academic reports. Parents received regular fitness reports and opportunities to discuss these individually with nutritionists and doctors.

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Dietary changes were made where at least one fruit and two portions of vegetables were served at every school lunch, and children were encouraged to eat the fruit first. Soya flour, brown bread, vegetable-stuffed rotis, sprouts, salad, millets and yogurt were incorporated into tasty ‘child-friendly’ lunch recipes. Vegetables were chopped or pureed so that children could not remove them from dishes.

“For students who brought their own lunches, we provided similar guidelines to their parents,” said Yeravdekar.

While the study highlighted the need for standardised fitness tests suitable for Indian children, it showed that introducing multiple changes in diet and physical activity at schools can indeed improve fitness levels.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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