Designing guidelines for prevention of childhood overweight as part of health checkups for infants
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science:Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Date (from‐to) : 2009 -2011
Author : HAGA Chiyori
The aim of this study is to analyze the factors associated with childhood overweight, as evident in health checkups of infants, and to design guidelines to prevent it. This analysis was designed as a cohort study. As an increasing number of children between the ages of 3 to 5 years are becoming overweight, it has become necessary to prevent them from being so during infancy. It was found that factors such as maternal smoking and skipping of breakfast were associated with the offspring's overweight. Children's overweight was also related to conditions like adiposity rebound at 4 years and their lifestyle involving insufficient sleep, long hours of TV watching, and so on. Public health nurses have realized the need to prevent children from being overweight. However, they must also be aware of any other developmental disability/disease and malnutrition during infancy. Hence, it is essential that they cooperate with other health professionals and promote awareness about childhood health. We plan to design a community-based interventional study involving a wide range of health professionals, such as pediatricians, childcare providers, and nutritionists.