Nutrition Education: Application of Theory and Strategies during the First 1,000 Days for Healthy Growth

Healthy growth during the first 1,000 days, spanning from conception to age 24 months, represents a crucial period which influences the long-term physical and cognitive development of individuals. International public health recommendations and nutrition education interventions targeting early life focus on building individuals' capacities through a variety of educational strategies, accompanied by environmental support, with an ultimate goal being the voluntary adoption of food choices and other nutrition-related behaviors conducive to health and wellness of the expectant mother during pregnancy, parents and caregivers who have a role in feeding the infant, and the infant in later childhood and beyond. Nutrition education interventions that hold promise in the promotion of healthy infant growth are designed on the basis of applicable theory of health behavior, focus on multiple modifiable nutrition-related behaviors, and address various mediators, such as motivators and barriers relevant to acting on these modifiable behaviors. A limited number of randomized controlled trials have been published to date, with modest effect sizes, some of which show sustained benefits related to obesity prevention. Considerations related to intervention design, behavior change strategies, and scale-up efforts are needed to improve the efficacy of nutrition education strategies in early nutrition.