Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
The global epidemic of obesity in many countries throughout the world has posed a great public health challenge in the early 21st century. There was no systematic review that specifically looked at effective intervention strategies to control childhood obesity in South Asia or low- and middle-income countries. The current review intends to cover the topic of childhood obesity more comprehensively and in a broad context.
Objectives:
To summarize the evidence about the effects of various interventions used for control of obesity in children in south Asian countries.
Methods:
Study designs included were randomized controlled trial (RCT), cluster-randomized trials, non-randomized trials, before-after interventions and cohort studies where an intervention has been evaluated. Participants included were children under 18 years of age and participating in studies reporting obesity in children in south Asian countries. The review included all home-, community-, school- and facility-based interventions.
Search strategy:
The databases searched were the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), OVIDSP, PubMed, IndMED and CINAHL plus.
Data collection and analysis:
Two independent assessors evaluated the trial quality and extracted data using Cochrane format.
Results:
We included five studies(three RCTs, two non-randomised control studies). Two studies focused on diet and exercise, one on health promotion and two studies on education for parents for dietary modification and exercise. There were 600 participants in the intervention groups and 795 in the control groups. No studies were found from south Asian countries reporting on the use of drugs and surgical intervention for control of obesity.
Conclusions:
There is a limited quantity of high-quality data in the south Asian countries addressing control of childhood obesity. The author is in the process of the meta-analysis that will be presented during the conference.
The global epidemic of obesity in many countries throughout the world has posed a great public health challenge in the early 21st century. There was no systematic review that specifically looked at effective intervention strategies to control childhood obesity in South Asia or low- and middle-income countries. The current review intends to cover the topic of childhood obesity more comprehensively and in a broad context.
Objectives:
To summarize the evidence about the effects of various interventions used for control of obesity in children in south Asian countries.
Methods:
Study designs included were randomized controlled trial (RCT), cluster-randomized trials, non-randomized trials, before-after interventions and cohort studies where an intervention has been evaluated. Participants included were children under 18 years of age and participating in studies reporting obesity in children in south Asian countries. The review included all home-, community-, school- and facility-based interventions.
Search strategy:
The databases searched were the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), OVIDSP, PubMed, IndMED and CINAHL plus.
Data collection and analysis:
Two independent assessors evaluated the trial quality and extracted data using Cochrane format.
Results:
We included five studies(three RCTs, two non-randomised control studies). Two studies focused on diet and exercise, one on health promotion and two studies on education for parents for dietary modification and exercise. There were 600 participants in the intervention groups and 795 in the control groups. No studies were found from south Asian countries reporting on the use of drugs and surgical intervention for control of obesity.
Conclusions:
There is a limited quantity of high-quality data in the south Asian countries addressing control of childhood obesity. The author is in the process of the meta-analysis that will be presented during the conference.