The IDEFICS intervention trial to prevent childhood obesity: design and study methods

Area of Science:

• Pediatric obesity prevention
• Public health interventions
• Childhood lifestyle behaviors

Background:

• The Identification and prevention of Dietary- and lifestyle-induced health EFfects In Children and infantS (IDEFICS) study focused on primary prevention of childhood obesity.
• A community-oriented intervention program was developed, implemented, and evaluated within the IDEFICS study.
• This supplement compiles key results from the IDEFICS intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the overall design and methods of the IDEFICS intervention.
• To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the intervention's key results presented in the supplement.
• To highlight 'best practice' examples from the intervention.

Main Methods:

• A non-randomized, quasi-experimental trial involving one intervention and one control region per country.
• Intervention designed using the intervention mapping framework and a socio-ecological approach.
• Targeted children aged 2 to 9.9 years, with data collected at baseline and 2-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• The primary outcome was the prevalence of overweight/obesity based on IOTF criteria.
• The intervention aimed to reduce overweight/obesity prevalence in intervention regions.
• Intervention delivered over 2 years in school and community settings.

Conclusions:

• This paper provides an introductory framework for understanding the IDEFICS intervention results.
• It sets the stage for a comprehensive reading of the supplement's findings.
• The described methods and results contribute to the field of childhood obesity prevention.