Gato-Moreno, MarioMartos-Lirio, María F.Leiva-Gea, IsabelBernal-López, Rosa M.Vegas-Toro, FernandoFernández-Tenreiro, María C.López-Siguero, Juan P.2022-12-072022-12-072021-06-18Gato-Moreno M, Martos-Lirio MF, Leiva-Gea I, Bernal-López MR, Vegas-Toro F, Fernández-Tenreiro MC, et al. Early Nutritional Education in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jun 18;18(12):65691661-7827http://hdl.handle.net/10668/4461Early childhood is a critical period for obesity prevention. This randomized controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of an educational intervention preventing obesity in preschool-age children. A nutritional education intervention, with a follow-up session one year later, was conducted with parents of children aged 3 to 4 years of public schools in the province of Málaga. The main outcome variable was the body mass index z-score (zBMI). The prevalence of overweight or obesity was the secondary outcome variable. The sample comprised 261 students (control group = 139). Initial BMI, weight, height-for-age and prevalence of overweight and obesity were similar for both groups. After the first year of the intervention, the zBMI of the intervention group decreased significantly from 0.23 to 0.10 (p = 0.002), and the subgroup of patients with baseline zBMI above the median decreased from 1 to 0.72 (p = 0.001), and in the second year from 1.01 to 0.73 (p = 0.002). The joint prevalence of overweight and obesity increased in the control group (12.2% to 20.1%; p = 0.027), while in the intervention group, there were no significant changes. This preschool educational intervention with parents improved their children's BMI, especially those with a higher BMI for their age, and favored the prevention of overweight or obesity.enAtribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Body mass indexOverweightChildhood obesityPreschoolEarly interventionEducationalHealthy dietPreventionPediatric obesityIndice de masa corporalSobrepesoObesidad pediátricaPreescolarIntervención médica tempranaEducaciónAlimentación saludablePrevención de enfermedadesMedical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Physiological Phenomena::Body Constitution::Body Weights and Measures::Body Mass IndexMedical Subject Headings::Persons::Persons::Age Groups::ChildMedical Subject Headings::Persons::Persons::Age Groups::Child::Child, PreschoolMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services::Health Services::Preventive Health Services::Health EducationMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms::Signs and Symptoms::Body Weight::OverweightMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases::Nutrition Disorders::Overnutrition::Obesity::Pediatric ObesityMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Epidemiologic Study Characteristics as Topic::Epidemiologic Studies::Cohort Studies::Longitudinal Studies::Follow-Up StudiesMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services::Health Services::Community Health Services::Child Health Services::Early Intervention (Education)Medical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Physiological Phenomena::Nutritional Physiological Phenomena::Dietresearch article34207231open access10.3390/ijerph181265691660-4601PMC8296335