Capacity-oriented approaches to developing childhood obesity interventions: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Public Health and Health Promotion
• Childhood Obesity Interventions
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Capacity-oriented health interventions empower communities to manage health issues using their own resources.
• Positive deviance, resilience, and asset-based approaches are key capacity-oriented methods.
• Childhood obesity remains a significant public health challenge requiring effective intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the efficacy of capacity-oriented interventions in addressing childhood obesity.
• To evaluate interventions specifically applying positive deviance, resilience, and asset-based approaches.
• To use adiposity, measured by standardized body mass index (BMI), as the primary outcome.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across four electronic databases.
• Eleven studies employing capacity-oriented approaches were identified from 181 initial records.
• Studies were categorized by approach: asset-based (8 studies), positive deviance (2 studies), and resilience-based (1 study).

Main Results:

• Asset-based approaches yielded mixed results: 3 of 8 studies showed significant adiposity reduction, while 5 did not.
• Positive deviance and resilience-based interventions demonstrated efficacy in reducing childhood adiposity.
• Significant heterogeneity in study design and varied definitions of approaches were noted.

Conclusions:

• Positive deviance and resilience-based interventions show potential for reducing childhood adiposity.
• The efficacy of asset-based approaches requires further investigation due to mixed findings.
• Establishing consensus on definitions and methodologies for capacity-oriented interventions is crucial for advancing research.