Design of a Digital-Based, Multicomponent Nutrition Guidance System for Prevention of Early Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Interventions targeting parenting focused modifiable factors to prevent obesity and promote healthy growth in the first 1000 days of life are needed. Scale-up of interventions to global populations is necessary to reverse trends in weight status among infants and toddlers, and large scale dissemination will require understanding of effective strategies. Utilizing nutrition education theories, this paper describes the design of a digital-based nutrition guidance system targeted to first-time mothers to prevent obesity during the first two years. The multicomponent system consists of scientifically substantiated content, tools, and telephone-based professional support delivered in an anticipatory and sequential manner via the internet, email, and text messages, focusing on educational modules addressing the modifiable factors associated with childhood obesity. Digital delivery formats leverage consumer media trends and provide the opportunity for scale-up, unavailable to previous interventions reliant on resource heavy clinic and home-based counseling. Designed initially for use in the United States, this system's core features are applicable to all contexts and constitute an approach fostering healthy growth, not just obesity prevention. The multicomponent features, combined with a global concern for optimal growth and positive trends in mobile internet use, represent this system's future potential to affect change in nutrition practice in developing countries.

Prospects for early childhood feeding interventions: An exploration of parent's concerns and acceptability towards social media intervention opportunities

“…Schematic model of behavioural motivations and behaviour change intentions aligning with the constructs of the health belief model (1) and social cognitive theory (2). (Adapted from Uesugi et al ., with permission)…”

“…Attrition rates in childhood obesity interventions, which range from 27% to 73%, provides some evidence in this regard, and suggest that further understanding of parent's acceptability towards intervention protocols are needed . Increasing researchers understanding of parent's acceptability towards child feeding interventions, in this regard, will allow more appropriate designs, that are likely to have higher rates of engagement, adherence, and consequently, outcome success . Furthermore, given the increasing attention towards Internet‐based interventions as a potentially efficient means of delivering child feeding interventions, gauging parent's acceptability towards Internet‐based interventions, as well as parent's concerns regarding such interventions, offers opportunity to better meet the needs of modern parents .…”

“…9,11,12 Furthermore, given the increasing attention towards Internet-based interventions as a potentially efficient means of delivering child feeding interventions, gauging parent's acceptability towards Internet-based interventions, as well as parent's concerns regarding such interventions, offers opportunity to better meet the needs of modern parents. 9,11,12 Specifically, issues surrounding participants concerns for privacy and social desirability bias have been flagged as potential barriers in delivering Internet-based interventions. 12 Despite these potential barriers, Internet-based technologies appear a plausible means to reach geographically diverse and otherwise vulnerable populations, who are often underrepresented in early childhood feeding interventions.…”

Early food for future health: a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of an eHealth intervention aiming to promote healthy food habits from early childhood

“…Early Food for Future Health is such a commitment. To our knowledge only few previous studies have investigated the utility and effect of Internet-based interventions on these topics, which might suit the new parent-generation to a larger extent than usual child care [ 27 ]. This project targets the following societal challenges; the growing obesity epidemic, the burden of non-communicable diseases, and the shift in society towards primary health care and preventive medicine.…”

Key Lessons and Impact of the Growing Healthy mHealth Program on Milk Feeding, Timing of Introduction of Solids, and Infant Growth: Quasi-Experimental Study (Preprint)

“…The use of mHealth for obesity prevention in early childhood is a rapidly growing field, with a number of trials underway [47][48][49][50]. However we are unaware of any other studies reporting the outcomes of a mobile phone app targeting parents' healthy infant feeding practices.…”