Interventions Aimed at Decreasing Obesity in Hispanic Children in the First 1000 Days: A Systematic Review

The prevalence of obesity is higher among Hispanic children than among all other ethnicities, and recent efforts have been focused on addressing this growing disparity. The objective of this review was to examine the evidence for interventions designed to reduce obesity in Hispanic children in the first 1000 days of life and to assess and summarize the effectiveness of the interventions. A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Scopus, and PubMed. Included in the review were published studies that evaluated an intervention designed to prevent or reduce obesity in Hispanic children in the first 1000 days of life. Quality was assessed using the GRADE system. Out of 134 citations that were retrieved, 11 articles underwent full-text review, and 5 articles met study inclusion criteria. Only one study was of high quality, and the rest were of low or moderate quality. Three of the studies were lifestyle interventions, and two were educational interventions. Four out of the five interventions led to significant improvements in the outcome measures assessed. Very few published studies tested interventions in the population of Hispanic children ages 0-2 years. Limited evidence does suggest that these interventions may improve behaviors related to factors known to increase the risk for obesity. Future research should focus on designing interventions using common themes observed among successful studies. Further, these studies should also include clinical measures of obesity to further establish their effectiveness.