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.
Highlights
Problems in nutrition and growth in early life have increasingly been implicated in long term health outcomes with devastating consequences to human capital
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
The modifiable factors that influence healthy growth of infants defined as dietary, feeding, and care practices and could be addressed in interventions beginning at birth have been previously identified by our group [35]
Summary
Problems in nutrition and growth in early life have increasingly been implicated in long term health outcomes with devastating consequences to human capital. Undernutrition’s effects in early life are well documented and culminate in increased growth faltering, morbidity, and mortality as well as impairment in cognitive development and diminished work capacity in adulthood [1, 2]. These negative effects are best prevented in the first 1000 days of life, as attempts to treat after that time are less effective [3]. Efforts to prevent and treat obesity during childhood have mixed success [11, 12] Prevention of both over and undernutrition is a global concern, with interventions beginning during the first 1000 days of life
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