Current Guidelines to Prevent Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence

Background: Current guidelines for the prevention of obesity in childhood and adolescence are presented. Methods: A literature search was performed in Medline via PubMed, and appropriate studies were analysed. Results: Programs to prevent childhood obesity were to date mainly school-based. Effects were limited to date. Analyses tailored to different age groups show that prevention programs have the best effects in younger children (<12 years). Evidence based recommendations for preschool- and early school age imply the need for interventions addressing parents and teachers alike. During adolescence, school-based interventions were most effective when adolescents were directly addressed. To date, obesity prevention programs have mainly focused on behavior oriented prevention. Recommendations for condition oriented prevention have been suggested by the German Alliance of Non-communicable Diseases and include one hour of physical activity at school, promotion of healthy food choices by taxing unhealthy foods, mandatory quality standards for meals at kindergarten and schools as well as a ban on unhealthy food advertisement addressing children. Conclusion: Behavior oriented prevention programs showed hardly any or only limited effects in the long term. Certain risk groups for the development of obesity are not reached effectively by available programs. Due to the heterogeneity of available studies, universally valid conclusions cannot be drawn. The combination with condition oriented prevention, which has to counteract on an obesogenic environment, is crucial for sustainable success of future obesity prevention programs.