The effectiveness of primary prevention interventions promoting physical activity and healthy eating in preschool children. A review of reviews

During their preschool years children establish nutritional and physical activity (PA) habits that may contribute to the development of overweight and obesity. To examine the evidence for effective interventions promoting healthy eating and PA in childcare settings. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Campbell Collaboration for systematic reviews published between 2007 and 2014. Ten systematic reviews and three meta-analyses met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 22 intervention studies. Intervention studies were conducted in North America (N = 14), Europe (N = 5), Asia (N = 2), and Australia (N = 1). Half of these addressed ethnic minority groups or socially disadvantaged children. We extracted information about the effects regarding anthropometric measures, eating habits, and physical activity, as well as the characteristics of effective interventions, and summarized them narratively. Evidence for intervention effects on anthropometric measurements was inconclusive. Seven out of nine studies showed beneficial effects on diet-related outcomes. Only isolated effects were reported on improvements in PA. Reviews indicated that interventions which comprised (1) the development of skills and competencies, (2) medium to high parental involvement, and (3) information on behavior-health links for parents were more effective. Preschool-based interventions showed some early improvements in eating habits and PA. Evidence is limited by the small number of studies, a lack of methodological quality, and inconsistencies among outcome measures. Evidence regarding anthropometric measurements is still inconclusive.