EFFECT OF A SCHOOL BASED INTERVENTION PROGRAMME ON ANTHROPOMETRIC AND CLINICAL INDICES AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOLCHILDREN: THE CHILDREN STUDY Peter D. Angelopoulos 1 , George Tsitsas 2 , Haralambos J. Milionis 1 , Eva Grammatikaki 2 , George Moschonis 2 , Yannis Manios 2 1 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Greece 2 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece Introduction: Many recent reports have indicated that the prevalence of obesity in childhood and adolescence has been increasing worldwide at an alarming rate. Next to the tracking phenomenon of obesity, the magnitude of other CVD-related risk factors, such as high blood pressure (BP), has been reported to show the same rising tendency. The prevalence seems to be related to socioeconomic indices thus affecting more the vulnerable populations and in extent poorer regions. School is an ideal place to develop and evaluate innovative health and nutrition education interventions, since children spend much of their time in school. Recent findings from school based intervention programs have delivered some encouraging findings regarding obesity indices indicating the potentiality of such programs. Still, identifying the social and environmental factors that influence children’s behaviour is an important prerequisite in taking appropriate corrective actions and further improving the effectiveness of tailor made interventions. Purpose: The current school based intervention program was implemented, innovatively using the results of a questionnaire based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to address the factors restricting or supporting desired dietary and physical activity patterns. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this school-based intervention program, which was developed and implemented based on the TPB, on obesity indices and blood pressure in primary school children in the prefecture of Ioannina – a poor area with high obesity rates- in Greece. Material: From the total number of primary schools in the region a random sample of 26 schools was selected resulting in a total sample of 646 5 th grade pupils (360 girls and 286 boys, participation rate: 96%). Three quarters (75%) of these pupils (n=485) attended urban schools while the rest of them attended rural schools. A school-based nutrition and physical activity intervention program was developed and implemented to a random sample of