Effects of the PRIMROSE prevention trial of childhood obesity on parental self-efficacy

Scoping review showed that obesity prevention in Nordic countries had limited effects on children from birth to 7 years of age

AIM

The aim of this scoping review was to map and summarise clinical trials that attempted to prevent obesity in children from birth to 7 years of age in any of the Nordic countries.

METHODS

PubMed, CINAHL Plus and clinicaltrials.gov were searched for peer-reviewed papers and registered trials published in English or Swedish. The overall search period was from 1 January 2002 to 13 December 2022. We included randomised and non-randomised trials initiated from birth to 7 years of age that aimed to prevent obesity in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

RESULTS

The search resulted in 414 papers and 14 were included. Despite having diverse settings and designs, none of them reported consistently favourable results for anthropometric outcomes, apart from beneficial trends in subgroups with a high body mass index at baseline. Most studies reported temporarily improved dietary patterns.

CONCLUSION

There is a gap in the current research about how to best prevent obesity in children. We suggest that researchers should focus on risk groups and that interventions that last a number of years are needed.

Changes in perceived parental self-efficacy after a Child-Centred Health Dialogue about preventing obesity

Aim

This randomised controlled trial evaluated changes in parental self‐efficacy and children's weight, after a Child‐Centred Health Dialogue about preventing obesity.

Methods

We randomly assigned 37 Child Health Centres in Skåne county Sweden to provide usual care or the dialogue intervention. They included centres from high and low socioeconomic areas. The outcomes were changes in parental self‐efficacy and any moderating effect on their children's body mass index 1 year later.

Results

The baseline data were based on 1115 mothers and 869 fathers representing 1197 children (52% females) aged 4 years (3.9–4.2) with a standardised body mass index (zBMI) of 0.1 ± 0.9. The participation rates at follow‐up, 1.1 ± 0.2 years after the intervention were 817 mothers and 508 fathers. Overall, parental self‐efficacy had decreased by the 1‐year follow‐up. There was a significant intervention effect on maternal self‐efficacy in promoting physical activity, however with unclear clinical relevance. Mothers' change in perceived self‐efficacy in promoting a healthy diet seemed to moderate the intervention effect on zBMI change in children with zBMI > 0 with −0.01 (95% CI: −0.025 to −0.001; p = 0.03).

Conclusion

Our study suggested a possible link between increased maternal self‐efficacy in promoting a healthy diet and a favourable development of zBMI.