Poster Presentation Australian & New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Meeting 2013

The effectiveness of interventions to promote healthy weight gain in infants and young children from socioeconomically disadvantaged and indigenous families: A systematic review (#233)

Rachel Laws 1 , Karen Campbell 1 , Georgina Russell 2 , Elizabeth Denney-Wilson 2 , David Crawford 1 , Kylie Ball 1 , John Lynch 3
  1. Centre for Physical Activitiy and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. School of Population Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Background and Aims

Early childhood is an important period for establishing behaviours that will affect weight gain and health across the life course. Children from disadvantaged families including those from low socio-economic backgrounds and indigenous families have significantly higher rates of obesity, making early intervention particularly important in these groups. Little is known however, about the most effective intervention approaches in these populations. This study will report the findings of a systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions to promote healthy weight gain in children 0-5 years from socioeconomically disadvantaged and indigenous families.

Methods

Searches of major electronic databases were undertaken to identify intervention studies promoting healthy weight gain in children aged 0-5 years from low socio-economic and indigenous families. Articles published in the last 20 years reporting on feeding practices, anthropometric, diet, physical activity or sedentary behaviour outcomes were included. A total of 4144 unique citations were identified and a screening of titles, abstracts resulted in 83 papers to be reviewed to identify studies meeting the eligibility criteria. Data on included studies are to be extracted by one reviewer and verified by a second reviewer. Internal and external validity will also be assessed using standard quality rating tools.

Results

The review will assess overall effectiveness of the interventions using meta-analysis (if possible) and narrative synthesis.  The review will also report on the reach of the interventions, the most important intervention targets, the effectiveness of various intervention strategies and delivery modes as well as the generalizability of the studies.

Significance

This review will provide important new information about the best bets in obesity prevention interventions for socioeconomically disadvantaged and indigenous families, as well as identifying key gaps in knowledge to guide future research.

To be considered for ‘late breaking abstracts’ with results to be updated