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Interventions to prevent obesity in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review.

Flodmark, Carl-Erik LU ; Marcus, C and Britton, M (2006) In International Journal of Obesity 30(4). p.579-589
Abstract
Objective: Preventive measures to contain the epidemic of obesity have become a major focus of attention. This report reviews the scientific evidence for medical interventions aimed at preventing obesity during childhood and adolescence. Design: A systematic literature review involving selection of primary research and other systematic reviews. Articles published until 2004 were added to an earlier ( 2002) review by the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care. Methods: Inclusion criteria required controlled studies with follow-up of at least 12 months and results measured as body mass index, skinfold thickness or the percentage of overweight/obesity. Children could be recruited from normal or high-risk populations. Results:... (More)
Objective: Preventive measures to contain the epidemic of obesity have become a major focus of attention. This report reviews the scientific evidence for medical interventions aimed at preventing obesity during childhood and adolescence. Design: A systematic literature review involving selection of primary research and other systematic reviews. Articles published until 2004 were added to an earlier ( 2002) review by the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care. Methods: Inclusion criteria required controlled studies with follow-up of at least 12 months and results measured as body mass index, skinfold thickness or the percentage of overweight/obesity. Children could be recruited from normal or high-risk populations. Results: Combining the new data with the previous review resulted in an evaluation of 24 studies involving 25 896 children. Of these, eight reported that prevention had a statistically significant positive effect on obesity, 16 reported neutral results and none reported a negative result ( sign test; P = 0.0078). Adding the studies included in five other systematic reviews yielded, in total, 15 studies with positive, 24 with neutral and none with negative results. Thus, 41% of the studies, including 40% of the 33 852 children studied, showed a positive effect from prevention. These results are unlikely to be a random chance phenomenon ( P = 0.000061). Conclusion: Evidence shows that it is possible to prevent obesity in children and adolescents through limited, school-based programs that combine the promotion of healthy dietary habits and physical activity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
prevention, childhood, adolescents, review
in
International Journal of Obesity
volume
30
issue
4
pages
579 - 589
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • wos:000236339900001
  • pmid:16570086
  • scopus:33645466954
  • pmid:16570086
ISSN
1476-5497
DOI
10.1038/sj.ijo.0803290
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Clinical Obesity (013241521), Pediatrics/Urology/Gynecology/Endocrinology (013240400)
id
b3eac6f7-2cfc-4074-9bdb-0f931c392152 (old id 156137)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16570086&dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:28:21
date last changed
2022-04-13 19:22:41
@article{b3eac6f7-2cfc-4074-9bdb-0f931c392152,
  abstract     = {{Objective: Preventive measures to contain the epidemic of obesity have become a major focus of attention. This report reviews the scientific evidence for medical interventions aimed at preventing obesity during childhood and adolescence. Design: A systematic literature review involving selection of primary research and other systematic reviews. Articles published until 2004 were added to an earlier ( 2002) review by the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care. Methods: Inclusion criteria required controlled studies with follow-up of at least 12 months and results measured as body mass index, skinfold thickness or the percentage of overweight/obesity. Children could be recruited from normal or high-risk populations. Results: Combining the new data with the previous review resulted in an evaluation of 24 studies involving 25 896 children. Of these, eight reported that prevention had a statistically significant positive effect on obesity, 16 reported neutral results and none reported a negative result ( sign test; P = 0.0078). Adding the studies included in five other systematic reviews yielded, in total, 15 studies with positive, 24 with neutral and none with negative results. Thus, 41% of the studies, including 40% of the 33 852 children studied, showed a positive effect from prevention. These results are unlikely to be a random chance phenomenon ( P = 0.000061). Conclusion: Evidence shows that it is possible to prevent obesity in children and adolescents through limited, school-based programs that combine the promotion of healthy dietary habits and physical activity.}},
  author       = {{Flodmark, Carl-Erik and Marcus, C and Britton, M}},
  issn         = {{1476-5497}},
  keywords     = {{prevention; childhood; adolescents; review}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{579--589}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Obesity}},
  title        = {{Interventions to prevent obesity in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803290}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/sj.ijo.0803290}},
  volume       = {{30}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}