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2nd Edition of Obesity Prevention and Intervention in Children and Adolescents

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Children's Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (24 March 2023) | Viewed by 12394

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Stephanie Partridge

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Guest Editor

Engagement and Co-design Hub, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
Interests: obesity and overweight; public health; nutrition and metabolism; digital health; prevention of obesity; chronic diseases; food accessibility and consumption; behavioral science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern society is hindering children and adolescents from engaging in positive lifestyle behaviors, putting young people at increased risk of obesity and related chronic diseases. As such, obesity is among the most significant health challenges facing today’s 1.8 billion children and adolescents. The prevalence of obesity has increased globally over the last four decades, with an estimated 42 million children under the age of 19 overweight or obese. Obesity risk factors, such as suboptimal diet and physical inactivity, are well established during childhood and adolescence, making these life stages critical periods for the development of lifelong health trajectories. Obesity is also a visible risk factor associated with stigma and discrimination. Stigmatization threatens mental and physical health, generates health inequalities, and interferes with intervention efforts. Moreover, there is an inequitable distribution of overweight and obesity, with a higher prevalence in children and adolescents from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. There is a critical need for effective and inclusive interventions which support all children and adolescents, including vulnerable groups, to improve risk factors and lead healthy lives.

In this Special Issue on the “2nd Edition of Obesity Prevention and Intervention in Children and Adolescents”, we are seeking unpublished works, including but not limited to (i) interventions targeting individuals or families for the prevention and management of overweight and obesity with a strong focus on engagement and co-design, and (ii) interventions targeting environment or policy change. Papers reporting on formative research of intervention design, primary and secondary outcome data, or process evaluation data will be considered. We will consider studies utilizing new digital technologies and co-design methodologies and those targeting vulnerable population groups, traditional clinical trials, observational studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.

Dr. Stephanie Partridge
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

childhood
adolescent health
overweight & obesity
intervention
behavioral sciences
nutrition
physical activity

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 6519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of an mHealth Platform for Adolescent Obesity Prevention: User-Centered Design Approach

by Catarina I. Reis, Cláudia Pernencar, Marta Carvalho, Pedro Gaspar, Ricardo Martinho, Roberta Frontini, Rodrigo Alves and Pedro Sousa

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12568; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912568 - 1 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2599

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic condition that influences the quality of life of patients and families while increasing the economic burden for the world population. Multidisciplinary prevention programs are crucial to address it, allowing an early introduction of healthy behaviors into daily habits. Mobile health interventions provide adequate support for these programs, especially considering the gamification techniques used to promote users’ engagement. TeenPower is a multidisciplinary mHealth intervention program conducted in Portugal during 2018 to empower adolescents, promoting healthy behaviors while preventing obesity. An agile software development process was applied to the development of the digital platform that holds a web-based application and a mobile application. We also propose a model for future developments based on the user-centered design approach adopted for this development and the assessment conducted in each phase. The user-centered design approach model proposed has three distinct phases: (1) design study; (2) pre-production usability tests; and (3) post-production data. Phase 1 allowed us to obtain the high-fidelity version of the graphical user interfaces (n = 5). Phase 2 showed a task completion success rate of 100% (n = 5). Phase 3 was derived from statistical analysis of the usage of the platform by real end users (n = 90). We achieved an average retention rate of 35% (31 out of 90 participants). Each technique has provided input for the continuous design and improvement of the platform. This allowed the creation of a tailored platform that could meet users’ expectations. Nevertheless, the retention rate decreased significantly over a short period of time, revealing the need for further work in the improvement of the gamification experience. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 2nd Edition of Obesity Prevention and Intervention in Children and Adolescents)

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16 pages, 3247 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Swap Up Your Meal: A Mass Media Nutrition Education Campaign for Oklahoma Teens

by Dana E. Wagner, Gabrielle Seneres, Elisabeth Jones, Kelli A. Brodersen and Sjonna Whitsitt-Paulson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10110; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610110 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3488

Abstract

To address a statewide need for obesity prevention, the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust launched Swap Up in 2021, a mass media nutrition education effort for teens, ages 13–18. Swap Up utilizes the SAVI messaging approach, an audience-centric message development framework that recognizes barriers to healthy living and offers realistic solutions. Five months into the campaign, an online survey was conducted (n = 200) to assess short-term program goals related to campaign delivery, engagement, and relevance. A secondary, long-term goal related to documenting and understanding self-reported changes in past month nutrition-related behaviors was also explored. A majority of participants (72%) reported aided awareness of the campaign brand logo/advertisements, and awareness (83%) of at least one main message. Nearly half (44%) of the participants reported at least one engagement with digital media. Main message recognition, perceived relevance, and self-reported nutritional behaviors were consistently highest among those reporting both campaign awareness and digital engagement. Ultimately, Swap Up reached and delivered nutrition education messages to Oklahoma teens within the first year of launch, as intended, and was associated with self-reported changes in recent behavior. This study provides evidence that SAVI offers a promising approach for nutrition education, and underscores why digital and social media engagement strategies are critical for mass media teen behavior change campaigns. Campaign implementation and evaluation are ongoing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 2nd Edition of Obesity Prevention and Intervention in Children and Adolescents)

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14 pages, 532 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Helpful and What Is the Quality of Digital Sources of Healthy Lifestyle Information Used by Australian Adolescents? A Mixed Methods Study

by Matthew Armstrong, Nicole K. Halim, Rebecca Raeside, Si Si Jia, Karice Hyun, Farzaneh Boroumand, Mariam Mandoh, Anna C. Singleton, Philayrath Phongsavan, Julie Redfern and Stephanie R. Partridge

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(23), 12844; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312844 - 6 Dec 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2839

Abstract

To evaluate the digital platforms most used by adolescents for healthy lifestyle information, perceived helpfulness of platform information, helpfulness for positive behaviour changes, and quality of platforms’ lifestyle health information. Mixed-methods study including a cross-sectional online survey and content analysis. Eligible participants were 13–18-years; living in Australia; and had searched online for healthy lifestyle behaviour (nutrition, physical activity, weight management, sleep) information in the previous three months. Survey items examined the use of digital platforms, self-perceived helpfulness, usefulness for positive behaviour, and popular content. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression models. Content analysis was performed on popular digital content to evaluate expertise, objectivity, transparency, popularity, and relevance. In total, 297 participants completed the survey (62.3% female; 15.8 [SD1.5] years). Seventy-eight percent and 77% of participants reported using websites and social media, respectively, for seeking healthy lifestyle information. Websites and social media were rated as somewhat helpful by 43% and 46% of participants, respectively. Sixty-six percent and 53% of participants agreed/strongly agreed smartphone apps and social media were helpful for positive behaviour change, respectively. Helpfulness did not differ by age or gender. We evaluated 582 popular digital content; 38% were produced by a commercial company. Only 7% of content was from health organisations, 10% from health professionals and only 10% of content was objective, and 14% was transparent. Adolescents extensively utilise websites and social media for health information, yet popular content has limited objectivity and transparency. Governments and health organisations should consider creating age-appropriate digital information for healthy lifestyle behaviours. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 2nd Edition of Obesity Prevention and Intervention in Children and Adolescents)

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Other

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12 pages, 897 KiB

Open AccessStudy Protocol

A Mixed-Methods Participatory Intervention Design Process to Develop Intervention Options in Immediate Food and Built Environments to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living among Children and Adolescents in Cameroon and South Africa

by Agnes Erzse, Teurai Rwafa-Ponela, Petronell Kruger, Feyisayo A. Wayas, Estelle Victoria Lambert, Clarisse Mapa-Tassou, Edwin Ngwa, Susan Goldstein, Louise Foley, Karen J. Hofman, Stephanie Teguia, Tolu Oni, Felix Assah, Maylene Shung-King and Safura Abdool Karim

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10263; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610263 - 18 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2760

Abstract

Rates of obesity and related non-communicable diseases are on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa, associated with sub-optimal diet and physical inactivity. Implementing evidence-based interventions targeting determinants of unhealthy eating and physical inactivity in children and adolescents’ immediate environments is critical to the fight against obesity and related non-communicable diseases. Setting priorities requires a wide range of stakeholders, methods, and context-specific data. This paper reports on a novel participatory study design to identify and address contextual drivers of unhealthy eating and physical inactivity of children and adolescents in school and in their home neighborhood food and built environments. We developed a three-phase mixed-method study in Cameroon (Yaoundé) and South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town) from 2020–2021. Phase one focused on identifying contextual drivers of unhealthy eating and physical inactivity in children and adolescents in each setting using secondary analysis of qualitative data. Phase two matched identified drivers to evidence-based interventions. In phase three, we worked with stakeholders using the Delphi technique to prioritize interventions based on perceived importance and feasibility. This study design provides a rigorous method to identify and prioritize interventions that are tailored to local contexts, incorporating expertise of diverse local stakeholders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 2nd Edition of Obesity Prevention and Intervention in Children and Adolescents)

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