The prevention of obesity risk in early childhood is critical not only for establishing good nutrition and physical activity behaviors, but also for potential long-term health benefits. Research in preventing childhood obesity through healthy lifestyle behaviors has become a focus for public health researchers over the past few decades. Epidemiological studies have shown obesity-related behaviors like poor diet quality, low physical activity, high sedentary behaviors, and poor sleep habits are established early and track from early childhood to later childhood and adolescence and then into adulthood. It is therefore imperative to start intervening within the first 2000 days of life if childhood obesity is to be prevented.
Interventions starting in early life, when biology is most amenable to change, are thus more likely to have sustained effects on health. This Research Topic welcomes manuscripts that consider addressing the determinants of overweight and obesity in the first 2000 days, and exploring effective programs or strategies to prevent childhood obesity in particular, using new technology such as digital approaches.
This Research Topic aims to bring together contributions from a range of related disciplines. Manuscripts exploring early life obesity risk and its prevention from a variety of perspectives are welcome, including but not limited to; health promotion, public health, health economics, policy, nutrition and dietetics, epidemiology, behavioral science, Human-computer interaction, pediatrics, psychology, and implementation science as well as information technology and digital health.
We are particularly interested in reviews, mini reviews, and original research on the following:
• Epidemiological or clinical studies on obesity prevention and their contributing factors
• Studies on physical and biological mechanisms of linking important elements to obesity prevention
• Studies on public health/health promotion intervention and innovation and its enablers or barriers
• Studies using innovative approaches to explore and address obesity prevention such as through mobile health, telehealth, translational research, systems-based approach
• Reports on intervention trials, and program evaluations as well as implementation science
• Recent advances in assessing or monitoring changes in obesity
• New clinical evidence of obesity prevention and innovation
This collection is the second volume of
Exploring Obesity Risk, Prevention, and Research Innovation in the First 2000 Days of Life