Poster Presentation
Halls C & D (Indiana Convention Center)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
8:30 AM - 9:15 AM
Halls C & D (Indiana Convention Center)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Blazing a Trail: Testing an Intervention Strategy with Preschoolers “at Risk” for Later Life Overweight/Obesity
Leigh Small, PhD, RN, CPNP1, Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN2, Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP, FNAP3, Anne Strasser, RN, MS, PNP4, and Lisa Spath, MS, RN3. (1) Pediatrics, Arizona State University College of Nursing, Tempe, AZ, USA, (2) Arizona State University College of Nursing, Arizona State University College of Nursing, Tempe, AZ, USA, (3) School of Nursing, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, (4) Visiting Nurses Service, Rochester, NY, USA
| Learning Objective #1: PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE BEST EVIDENCE WITH REGARD TO TREATMENT AND PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TOWARD OBESITY/OVERWEIGHT WITH PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS |
| Learning Objective #2: PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE FACTORS THAT PLACE YOUNG, PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AT RISK FOR LATER LIFE OBESITY |
Childhood overweight/obesity is reaching staggering proportions; however, there have been limited well designed trials that support specific intervention strategies with young children and their families. There has been much study that has identified predictors of later life obesity and they include: 1) weight during adiposity rebound (AR), 2) early AR, occurring before 6 years of age, and 3) parental obesity/overweight. The majority of the research efforts that study the prevention of childhood obesity have been conducted with 8-12 year old children; however, given the risk factors true preventive/treatment interventions should occur before or in the early stages of AR. Although this is an escalating health dilemma very few well designed studies have been conducted with young children and their parents. A current thorough systematic review of preventive intervention strategies directed toward obesity prevention in children (3-19 years) was conducted; however, only three studies involved 4-5 year-old children. While these studies provide information to inform the development of an intervention program, there were several methodologic differences which prevent comparison of results and generalizability of those study findings. The purpose of this presentation is to present the current evidence regarding the overweight/obesity dilemma confronting our nations' young children, outline the factors placing young children at risk for later life overweight/obesity, describe the challenges of developing and conducting this small intervention pilot (N=14) conducted in a daycare setting, and offer practice/research suggestions. If allowed to continue unchecked, this national dilemma of child and adult overweight/obesity may reach cataclysmic proportions affecting the lives and health of many children and their families. Given the current state of science with regard to child overweight/obesity and knowledge of predictors of later life overweight/obesity, many of those trials should focus on the preschool and early school-age child population.