Atherosclerosis precursors in schoolchildren--results of a two-year intervention study.

In order to reduce precursors of atherosclerosis, an intervention trial was carried out in pupils aged 10-11 years at the time of inclusion into the study (5th graders). The main goal of the study was to encourage health-promoting behaviour patterns--mostly present in the schoolchildren at that time--such as non-smoking, a negative attitude toward future smoking, a high level of physical activity including sports. The study design included dietary measures aimed at lowering blood pressure and total cholesterol values. Follow-up examination, performed at an interval of 2 years, revealed the following results: significantly lower mean total cholesterol values in girls attending the intervention schools; a significantly lower prevalence of smoking and a decrease in the number of casual smokers--compared with data obtained in the 5th grade--in the intervention schools; a negative attitude towards smoking and the extent of sport activities remained at the level of the 5th grade in the intervention schools.