Interventions for preventing obesity in childhood : a systematic review.

Background: The prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing worldwide. Obesity in children impacts on their health in both short- and long-term. Obesity prevention strategies are poorly understood. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent obesity in childhood. Search strategy: Electronic databases were searched from January 1985 to October 1999. Selection criteria: Data from randomized control trials and non-randomized trials with concurrent control group were included. A priori, studies with follow up of 1 year minimum were selected however, this was subsequently amended to include studies with a minimum follow up of three months. Data collection & analysis: Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. Main results: Seven studies were included, three long-term (>1 years) and four short-term (>3 months and