CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 925Obesity, Physical Activity, DietObesity and Health PracticesPhysical Activity and Health

Reducing obesity and related chronic disease risk in children and youth: a synthesis of evidence with 'best practice' recommendations

Flynn, M. A. T., McNeil, D. A., Maloff, B., Mutasingwa, D., Wu, M., Ford, C., Tough, S. C.·2006·Obesity Reviews
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-789x.2006.00242.x
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a global epidemic and rising trends in overweight and obesity are apparent in both developed and developing countries. Available estimates for the period between the 1980s and 1990s show the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children increased by a magnitude of two to five times in developed countries (e.g. from 11% to over 30% in boys in Canada), and up to almost four times in developing countries (e.g. from 4% to 14% in Brazil). The goal of this synthesis research study was to develop best practice recommendations based on a systematic approach to finding, selecting and critically appraising programmes addressing prevention and treatment of childhood obesity and related risk of chronic diseases. An international panel of experts in areas of relevance to obesity provided guidance for the study. This synthesis research encompassed a comprehensive search of medical/academic and grey literature and the Internet covering the years 1982-2003. The appraisal approach developed to identify best practice was unique, in that it considered not only methodological rigour, but also population health, immigrant health and programme development/evaluation perspectives in the assessment. Scores were generated based on pre-determined criteria with programmes scoring in the top tertile of the scoring range in any one of the four appraisal categories included for further examination. The synthesis process included identification of gaps and an analysis and summary of programme development and programme effectiveness to enable conclusions to be drawn and recommendations to be made. The results from the library database searches (13,158 hits), the Internet search and key informant surveys were reduced to a review of 982 reports of which 500 were selected for critical appraisal. In total 158 articles, representing 147 programmes, were included for further analysis. The majority of reports were included based on high appraisal scores in programme development and evaluation with limited numbers eligible based on scores in other categories of appraisal. While no single programme emerged as a model of best practice, synthesis of included programmes provided rich information on elements that represent innovative rather than best practice under particular circumstances that are dynamic (changing according to population subgroups, age, ethnicity, setting, leadership, etc.). Thus the findings of this synthesis review identifies areas for action, opportunities for programme development and research priorities to inform the development of best practice recommendations that will reduce obesity and chronic disease risk in children and youth. A lack of programming to address the particular needs of subgroups of children and youth emerged in this review. Although immigrants new to developed countries may be more vulnerable to the obesogenic environment, no programmes were identified that specifically targeted their potentially specialized needs (e.g. different food supply in a new country). Children 0-6 years of age and males represented other population subgroups where obesity prevention programmes and evidence of effectiveness were limited. These gaps are of concern because (i) the pre-school years may be a critical period for obesity prevention as indicated by the association of the adiposity rebound and obesity in later years; and (ii) although the growing prevalence of obesity affects males and females equally; males may be more vulnerable to associated health risks such as cardiovascular disease. Other gaps in knowledge identified during synthesis include a limited number of interventions in home and community settings and a lack of upstream population-based interventions. The shortage of programmes in community and home settings limits our understanding of the effectiveness of interventions in these environments, while the lack of upstream investment indicates an opportunity to develop more upstream and population-focused interventions to balance and extend the current emphasis on individual-based programmes. The evidence reviewed indicates that current programmes lead to short-term improvements in outcomes relating to obesity and chronic disease prevention with no adverse effects noted. This supports the continuation and further development of programmes currently directed at children and youth, as further evidence for best practice accumulates. In this synthesis, schools were found to be a critical setting for programming where health status indicators, such as body composition, chronic disease risk factors and fitness, can all be positively impacted. Engagement in physical activity emerged as a critical intervention in obesity prevention and reduction programmes. While many programmes in the review had the potential to integrate chronic disease prevention, few did; therefore efforts could be directed towards better integration of chronic disease prevention programmes to minimize duplication and optimize r

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/j.1467-789x.2006.00242.x

Cites

325 of 325 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The findings of this update are consistent with reviews by Flynn 2006, Reilly 2003, Thomas 2004a, and Waters 2011, which reported mixed results for interventions to prevent obesity, promote healthy eating, and promote physical activity in children and adolescents.

    “The findings of this update are consistent with the findings of reviews conducted by Flynn 2006, Reilly 2003, Thomas 2004a, and Waters 2011, who reported mixed results regarding the effectiveness of interventions to prevent obesity, promote healthy eating, and promote physical activity in children and adolescents.”

    From School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 (2013) · cites this paper as Flynn 2006

Cites

2 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Flynn, M. A. T., McNeil, D. A., Maloff, B., Mutasingwa, D., Wu, M., Ford, C., & Tough, S. C.
Affiliations
  • Food Safety Authority of Ireland (IE)
  • University of Calgary (CA)
  • Calgary Health Region (CA)
Corresponding author
McNeil, D. A.
ORCID
Venue
Obesity Reviews
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2005-12-20
Volume
7
Issue
s1
Pages
7-66
ISSN
  • 1467-7881 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-789X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-789x.2006.00242.x
OpenAlex
W2136922698
Cited by
925
References
325
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 44 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 66 · 2014: 62 · 2013: 55 · 2012: 70
FWCI
5.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Obesity Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
Keywords
childhood obesity, childhood overweight, chronic disease risk, best practice recommendations, immigrant health, population health, program effectiveness, children and young people, research priorities, obesogenic environment, health promotion programs, health education intervention, health care delivery, health care financing
MeSH terms
Child, Child Welfare, Child, Preschool, Chronic Disease, Developing Countries, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity, Female, Health Planning, Health Promotion, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, International Cooperation, Male, Minority Groups, Obesity, Risk Factors, Body Mass Index, Evidence-Based Medicine

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review