Premium
A developmental cascade perspective of paediatric obesity: A systematic review of preventive interventions from infancy through late adolescence
Author(s) -
St. George Sara M.,
Agosto Yaray,
Rojas Lourdes M.,
Soares Mary,
Bahamon Monica,
Prado Guillermo,
Smith Justin D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12939
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , medicine , intervention (counseling) , childhood obesity , early childhood , randomized controlled trial , clinical trial , pediatrics , systematic review , child development , medline , developmental psychology , obesity , clinical psychology , psychology , overweight , psychiatry , political science , law , surgery , pathology
Summary The goals of this systematic review were to identify and describe paediatric obesity prevention interventions from infancy to late adolescence and to provide recommendations for future intervention research in light of a recently proposed developmental cascade (DC) model of paediatric obesity. We conducted an electronic search of randomized controlled trials with a minimum 6‐month postintervention follow‐up published between 1995 and 2019. We included 74 interventions: prenatal/infancy (n = 4), early childhood (n = 11), childhood (n = 38), early to mid‐adolescence (n = 18), and late adolescence (n = 3). Infancy and early childhood trials targeted early feeding and positive parenting skills. Half of the childhood and adolescence trials were school based and used universal prevention strategies; those classified as selective or indicated prevention tended to involve the family for more intensive lifestyle modification. Less than 10% of studies followed participants over long periods of time (greater than or equal to 5 years), and only 16% and 31% of studies assessed intervention mediators and moderators, respectively. We recommend that future interventions focus on early prevention, assess long‐term intervention effects, use a standardized taxonomy for defining intervention behavioural strategies, assess underlying mechanisms of action and intervention moderators, target parent and family management strategies across development, and increase scientific equity. We also provide specific recommendations regarding intervention targets for each developmental stage.