Childhood Obesity Evidence Base Project: Methods for Taxonomy Development for Application in Taxonomic Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Traditional meta-analysis has limitations in evaluating childhood obesity prevention, often excluding diverse study designs and narrowly defining intervention components.
• The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (COEB) project aims to create a comprehensive evidence base for childhood obesity prevention in 2-5 year olds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a novel taxonomic meta-analysis process for childhood obesity prevention studies (2010-2019).
• To demonstrate how taxonomic methods can broaden the scope of included studies and intervention components in meta-analyses.

Main Methods:

• Developed taxonomies based on the Social Ecological Model, cataloging outcomes, intervention components, recipients, and contexts.
• Utilized grounded theory for literature discovery to create these taxonomies.
• Applied a novel taxonomic meta-analytic approach to studies published between 2010 and 2019.

Main Results:

• The taxonomic approach allows for the inclusion of a wider array of intervention types and study designs compared to conventional methods.
• This method facilitates a more granular examination of specific intervention actions within broader strategies.
• The developed taxonomies provide a structured framework for analyzing complex intervention landscapes.

Conclusions:

• Taxonomic meta-analysis offers a more inclusive and detailed approach to evaluating childhood obesity prevention efforts.
• This methodology can be adapted for other research areas and populations facing similar public health challenges.
• Enhancing the scope of meta-analysis improves the understanding of effective obesity prevention strategies.