The family-school-healthcare collaborative plan for childhood obesity: protocol for a cluster-sampled interventional study (the DREAM framework)

Background: Childhood obesity represents a major global public health challenge. Its escalating prevalence poses significant risks to children's health and long-term development. While existing family-school collaborative interventions have demonstrated preliminary efficacy, the multifactorial etiology of obesity and the difficulty in sustaining outcomes highlight the need for further optimization of management models. We propose an innovative tripartite collaborative model, led by professional healthcare institutions to integrate family, school, and medical resources. This study aims to systematically evaluate the comprehensive effectiveness of this model in preventing and managing childhood obesity. Methods: This is a two-arm, open-label, cluster-sampled interventional study with a matched design, based on the "Dietary intake, Regular exercise, Education, Assessment, and Monitoring" (DREAM) framework. Eligible children and adolescents will be clustered by school. A one-academic-year intervention will be conducted in two matched schools. The intervention group will receive a comprehensive DREAM intervention facilitated by the Family-School-Healthcare collaborative model, while the control group will maintain conventional practices without additional interventions. The primary outcome is the change in body mass index (BMI) from baseline. Secondary outcomes include changes in obesity prevalence, anthropometric measurements, body composition, and metabolic indicators. Discussion: This study will implement and evaluate a novel Family-School-Healthcare collaborative management model, emphasizing the critical role of medical institutions in managing obesity as a chronic disease. Beyond BMI, the study will incorporate health-related metabolic indicators to provide a comprehensive assessment of the intervention effectiveness. The findings are expected to yield crucial evidence for the scientific prevention and control of childhood obesity, offering substantial theoretical and practical significance for the optimization of public health strategies. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR), ID: ChiCTR2300076418. Registered on 08 October 2023. Protocol version: 1.0.