Get Fit with the Grizzlies: a community-school-home initiative to fight childhood obesity.

METHODS: Survey research was employed which measured health knowledge acquisition and health behavior change using a matched pre/posttest design in randomly chosen schools (n = 11) from all elementary schools in the MCS system (N = 110). The total number of matched pre/posttests (n = 888) equaled approximately 5% of the total fourth-/fifth-grade population. McNemar's test for significance (p < .05) was applied. Odds ratios were calculated for each question. RESULTS: Analyses confirmed that there was significant health knowledge acquisition (7 of 8 questions) with odds ratios confirming moderate to strong associations. Seven out of 10 health behavior change questions significantly improved after intervention, whereas odds ratios indicated a low level of association after intervention. CONCLUSIONS: This community-school-home initiative using a professional team's celebrity platform within a certain locale is largely overlooked by school districts and should be considered as a positive strategy to confront childhood obesity.