Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 21, 2026
A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
Interventions for preventing obesity in children
K Campbell1, E Waters, S O'Meara
1School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Australia, 3125. kcamp@deakin.edu.au
Insights
Childhood obesity prevention strategies lack sufficient high-quality evidence. More well-designed studies are needed to understand effective interventions for preventing childhood obesity and its long-term health impacts.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Global rise in childhood obesity and overweight presents significant short- and long-term health challenges.
- Current understanding of effective obesity prevention strategies in children is limited.
- Addressing childhood obesity is a critical public health priority.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity.
- To identify successful strategies for childhood obesity prevention.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive search of electronic databases from 1985 to October 1999.
- Inclusion of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized trials with concurrent control groups.
- Data extraction and quality assessment by two independent reviewers, with minimum follow-up periods adjusted to three months.
Main Results:
- Seven diverse studies (three long-term, four short-term) were included in the review.
- Significant heterogeneity in study design, quality, target populations, intervention approaches, and outcome measures precluded statistical meta-analysis.
- No single intervention approach demonstrated universally effective outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Limited high-quality data currently exists on the effectiveness of childhood obesity prevention programs.
- Generalizable conclusions regarding intervention efficacy cannot be drawn due to data limitations.
- There is a clear and urgent need for well-designed research to explore a variety of obesity prevention interventions in children.
Background:
The prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing world-wide. Obesity in children impacts on their health in both the short and longer term. Obesity prevention strategies are poorly understood.
Objectives:
To assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent obesity in childhood.
Search Strategy:
Electronic databases were searched from 1985 to October 1999.
Selection Criteria:
Data from RCTs and non-randomised trials with concurrent control group were included. studies with follow up of one year minimum were selected, A priori, this was subsequently amended to include studies with minimum follow up of three months. The possible susceptibility of post hoc questions to bias is addressed.
Data Collection And Analysis:
Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality.
Main Results:
Seven studies were included, three long-term and four short- term. The studies included were diverse in terms of study design and quality, target population, theoretical underpinning of intervention approach, and outcome measures. As such, it was not possible to combine study findings using statistical methods.
Reviewer'S Conclusions:
The findings of the review suggest that currently there is limited quality data on the effectiveness of obesity prevention programs and as such no generalisable conclusions can be drawn. The need for well-designed studies which examine a range of interventions remains a priority.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Preventive Healthcare Services
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
01:03Nursing Interventions I: Taxonomy of Nursing Interventions
A nursing intervention is a treatment or action based on scientific concepts and knowledge from the nursing, behavioral, and physical sciences. Identifying and prioritizing nursing interventions based on the desired outcome is...
01:24Obesity
01:21Drug Dosing: Obese Patients
01:24Operant Conditioning Intervention
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...