SALTO - Study Protocol and Rationale of a Community-Oriented Obesity Prevention Program in the Kindergarten

The prevalence of early childhood overweight and obesity in Austria has reached average European levels of 20% in boys and 18% in girls. The rationale and study protocol of SALTO, Salzburg Together against Obesity will be presented, which is aimed to assist adults in increasing the rate of 4- to 6-year-old children with a healthy body weight.

A controlled longitudinal sequential study design consisting of 14 intervention (IK) and 8 control (CK) kindergarten was used to investigate the effect of actions tailored for teachers and parents on BMI among 4- to 6-year-old children. The study launched in November 2014 was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Salzburg.

681 children, 181 parents (119 mothers, 62 fathers) and 30 teachers were investigated until October 2016. Preliminary analyses revealed that more boys (19%) and fathers (60% IK, 43% CK) were overweight and obese than girls (16%) and mothers (19% IK, 20% CK).

The challenges faced by the SALTO staff in the implementation of health-promoting actions in the kindergarten are manifold. The Community-Oriented Core Setting (COCS) intervention approach will show whether the actions will reduce the percentage of obesity and be sustainable in the long term.