Trial reportInternational journal of obesity (2005)2020
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of The Daily Mile on childhood weight outcomes and wellbeing: a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in International journal of obesity (2005), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05862506 (Effects of the Daily Mile Program on Health - Related Physical Fitness and Sleep Quality in Overweight/Obese Schoolchildren), which is not on this map. Cited by 31 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of the Daily Mile Program on Health - Related Physical Fitness and Sleep Quality in Overweight/Obese Schoolchildren: a Non- Randomized Clinical Trial
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Association Between Physical Activity and Indicators of Overweight/Obesity and Metabolically Unhealthy Obesity Risk in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Prospective Epidemiological Studies and Randomized Controlled Trials in Western Countries.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 5 to 11 years old.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Implementation and Effectiveness of 'The Daily Mile' on Markers of Children's Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Characteristics and practices of school-based cluster randomised controlled trials for improving health outcomes in pupils in the United Kingdom: a methodological systematic review.BMC medical research methodology · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Cost Effectiveness of a Free Summer Day Camp Voucher Program to Prevent Summer Weight Gain Among Children From Disadvantaged Households.American journal of preventive medicine · 2025Trial
- Willingness to pay for measures to increase use of active school transport.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- The Daily Mile and children's physical activity, mental health and educational performance: a quasi-experimental study in Greater London primary schools.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2026Article
- Strong Foundations of Physical Literacy: The Role of School-Based Daily Mile Physical Activity in Elementary School Children's Success.International journal of school health · 2026Article
- Impact of School-Based Physical Activity Intervention on Obesity and Physical Parameters in Children: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Public health interventions aimed at children aged 5-19 years funded by local authorities in England: a scoping review of economic analyses.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Comparing the impact of "The Daily Mile™" vs. a modified version on Irish primary school children's engagement and enjoyment in structured physical activity.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Perceived Health-Related Effectiveness of 'The Daily Mile' Initiative in Irish Primary Schools.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The cost-effectiveness of school-based interventions for chronic diseases: a systematic review.Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E · 2024Review
- Article
- Article
- Interventions to prevent obesity in school-aged children 6-18 years: An update of a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis including studies from 2015-2021.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe Daily Mile is designed to increase physical activity levels with children running or walking around school grounds for 15-min daily. It has been adopted by schools worldwide and endorsed as a solution to tackle obesity, despite no robust evidence of its benefits. We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial to determine its clinical and cost-effectiveness.
methodsForty schools were randomly assigned (1:1) to either the Daily Mile intervention or control group in which only the usual school health and wellbeing activities were implemented. The primary outcome was BMI z-score (BMIz) at 12 months follow-up from baseline, with planned subgroup analysis to examine differential effects. Primary economic analysis outcome was incremental cost per Quality-Adjusted-Life-Year (QALY) gained.
resultsUsing a constrained randomisation approach, balanced on school size, baseline BMIz and proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, 20 schools were allocated to intervention (n = 1,153 participants) and 20 to control (n = 1,127); 3 schools withdrew (2 intervention, 1 control). At 12 months, BMIz data were available for 18 intervention schools (n = 850) and 19 control schools (n = 820 participants). Using intention-to-treat analysis the adjusted mean difference (MD) in BMIz (intervention - control) was -0.036 (95% CI: -0.085 to 0.013, p = 0.146). Pre-specified subgroup analysis showed a significant interaction with sex (p = 0.001) suggesting a moderate size benefit of The Daily Mile in girls (MD -0.097, 95% CI -0.156 to -0.037). This was consistent with the exploratory economic results that showed The Daily Mile to be highly cost-effective in girls (£2,492 per QALY), but not in boys, and overall to have a 76% chance of cost-effectiveness for the whole sample, at the commonly applied UK threshold of £20,000 per QALY.
conclusionsOverall the Daily Mile had a small but non-significant effect on BMIz, however, it had a greater effect in girls suggesting that it might be considered as a cost-effective component of a system-wide approach to childhood obesity prevention.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.