The Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program follow-up☆
Section snippets
Background
The prevention of childhood overweight and obesity is an international health priority [1]. Similar to other developed nations, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in young children in Australia is high, with 17% of 2–3 year olds overweight and 4% obese [2]. The high prevalence of overweight and obesity in young children is concerning as weight gain in the first two years of life is associated with a 2–3 fold increase in risk of later overweight [3], [4] and most excess weight gained before
Methods/design
The Melbourne INFANT Program follow-up will involve data collection two and 3.5 years post intervention. No further intervention will be carried out in this phase of the program. The study has been approved by the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (2007–175).
Discussion
A valid criticism of intervention research in the field of obesity prevention is the consistent failure to assess longer term effects of interventions [24], [26]. This is particularly important when considering obesity prevention interventions in children as parental knowledge, skills and practices have the capacity to influence obesity-promoting behaviours over the longer term [53]. Research suggests that without intervention, parents' self-efficacy regarding their capacity to influence their
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author's contributions
KH took the lead in writing and designing the follow-up study subsequently funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Grant. She also led the modification of this grant for publication.
KC contributed to the overall concept and design of the follow-up study and assisted with the writing of the grant and this manuscript.
DC, JS, SM, ZM, AC, KB, LG, NA provided expert input and support overall for the writing of the grant and this manuscript.
All authors read and approved the final
Acknowledgements
This project was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council project grant (no. 1008879). KDH is supported by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Career Development Award. KC is supported by Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Fellowship. JS is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Principal Research Fellowship (APP1026216). SAM is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. AC is supported by a National Health and Medical Research
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2021, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsCitation Excerpt :Intervention strategies, including 6 dietitian-delivered education sessions, sought to promote best-practice infant feeding and physical activity, and to reduce sedentary behaviors, but with no focus on protein consumption. Establishment of this trial and its follow-up details have been described previously.28,29 In brief, a total of 62 first-time mother groups, including 630 mothers, were selected from 14 local government areas.
Early Childhood Vegetable, Fruit, and Discretionary Food Intakes Do Not Meet Dietary Guidelines, but Do Show Socioeconomic Differences and Tracking over Time
2018, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsCitation Excerpt :The intervention involved quarterly group sessions with a dietitian from child age 3 months to 1.5 years (2008-2010). Follow-up assessments post-intervention were conducted at 3.5 and 5 years (2012-2015).45 The nutrition component of the intervention focused on discussing healthy foods for young children, appropriate feeding practices, and the importance of healthy parental role-modeling.
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Trial registration: Current controlled Trials ISRCTN81847050.