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Designing and implementing a kindergarten-based, family-involved intervention to prevent obesity in early childhood:
Y Manios1, O Androutsos, C Katsarou
1Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
Insights
The ToyBox-intervention targets early childhood obesity by promoting healthy habits like water consumption and physical activity in preschoolers and families. This study describes the intervention design and baseline characteristics of over 7,000 participants across six European countries.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Early childhood obesity is a significant public health concern with complex behavioral determinants.
- Identifying effective, scalable interventions for preschool-aged children is crucial for prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the design of the multi-component ToyBox-intervention.
- To present the baseline characteristics of a large, multinational sample of preschool children and their families.
- To lay the groundwork for evaluating strategies to prevent early childhood obesity.
Main Methods:
- A cluster-randomized, multi-component intervention (ToyBox-intervention) was developed based on preliminary findings.
- The intervention focused on water consumption, healthy snacking, physical activity, and reducing sedentary time.
- Standardized protocols were used for implementation and evaluation across six European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain).
Main Results:
- The study involved 7,056 preschool children and their parents/caregivers, stratified by socioeconomic level.
- Baseline data were collected prior to intervention implementation.
- The intervention was implemented during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Conclusions:
- The ToyBox-intervention is a comprehensive, kindergarten-based, family-involved program designed to address early childhood obesity.
- The study provides a robust baseline dataset for evaluating the intervention's effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
- Findings are expected to offer insights into behaviors and determinants of early childhood obesity, informing prevention strategies.
Abstract:
The development of the ToyBox-intervention was based on the outcomes of the preliminary phase of the ToyBox-study, aiming to identify young children's key behaviours and their determinants related to early childhood obesity. The ToyBox-intervention is a multi-component, kindergarten-based, family-involved intervention with a cluster-randomized design, focusing on the promotion of water consumption, healthy snacking, physical activity and the reduction/ breaking up of sedentary time in preschool children and their families. The intervention was implemented during the academic year 2012-2013 in six European countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain. Standardized protocols, methods, tools and material were used in all countries for the implementation of the intervention, as well as for the process, impact, outcome evaluation and the assessment of its cost-effectiveness. A total sample of 7,056 preschool children and their parents/caregivers, stratified by socioeconomic level, provided data during baseline measurements and participated in the intervention. The results of the ToyBox-study are expected to provide a better insight on behaviours associated with early childhood obesity and their determinants and identify effective strategies for its prevention. The aim of the current paper is to describe the design of the ToyBox-intervention and present the characteristics of the study sample as assessed at baseline, prior to the implementation of the intervention.
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