Journal of Obesity

The Effect of Early Life Factors and Early Interventions on Childhood Overweight and Obesity


Publishing date
12 Dec 2014
Status
Published
Submission deadline
25 Jul 2014

Lead Editor

1Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Health Promotion Service, Sydney Local Health Districts, Sydney, NSW, Australia

2Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

3School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China


The Effect of Early Life Factors and Early Interventions on Childhood Overweight and Obesity

Description

The global obesity epidemic continues to be one of the major health burdens on society, which directly affects our younger generation. Worldwide, more than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight with a global prevalence of overweight being 6.7% in 2010. The prevalence rate is even higher in some developed countries like the United States and Australia where almost 20 percent of children are overweight and obese. The rates of overweight and obesity have been dramatically increasing in some developing countries such as China and India over the recent years. This highlights the need for a better understanding of the effect of early life factors on overweight and obesity and, more importantly, for developing effective early interventions. Research evidence has already showed that some early infant feeding practices, including breastfeeding and the timing of the introduction of solids as well as children’s eating habits and television viewing time, are among the most identifiable factors contributing to early onset of childhood obesity. However, these risk factors for overweight and obesity are just the tip of the iceberg. There remain many unknown factors which require further research. In particular, the context of early life factors including family environments and parental inferences as well as societal influences.

To date, research has failed to establish a direct causal link between early life factors and childhood overweight and obesity, often due to the potential confounding effect of unidentified factors. Further, study findings are often not comparable due to the use of different assessment tools for the study variables, different definitions of childhood obesity, and different age groups of the study population. This has created a challenge for health promotion or healthcare providers in developing appropriate early obesity interventions. Much more needs to be understood about early life factors contributing to childhood obesity and what public health interventions can tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to understand the effect of early life factors on overweight and obesity, and to help develop intervention strategies to reduce childhood obesity. We are particularly interested in the evaluation of interventions with population health outcomes. Investigators who have conducted research on these topics are invited to submit manuscripts for consideration for this special issue. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Recent epidemiologic studies on early life factors associated with overweight and obesity
  • Recent epidemiologic studies or review articles on the effect of early life factors on overweight and obesity
  • Reports on public health and health promotion intervention studies
  • Reports on intervention trials and program evaluations
  • Recent advances in assessing or monitoring changes in early life factors and overweight and obesity

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/jobe/coo/ according to the following timetable:


Articles

  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 964540
  • - Editorial

The Effect of Early Life Factors and Early Interventions on Childhood Overweight and Obesity

Li Ming Wen | Chris Rissel | Gengsheng He
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 351734
  • - Research Article

Blending Better Beverage Options: A Nutrition Education and Experiential Workshop for Youths

Kathy K. Isoldi | Veronika Dolar
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 531690
  • - Research Article

Calorie Labeling in a Rural Middle School Influences Food Selection: Findings from Community-Based Participatory Research

Monica Hunsberger | Paul McGinnis | ... | Jean O’Malley
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 945918
  • - Research Article

Reducing Hispanic Children’s Obesity Risk Factors in the First 1000 Days of Life: A Qualitative Analysis

Jennifer A. Woo Baidal | Shaniece Criss | ... | Elsie M. Taveras
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 570541
  • - Research Article

Prenatal Stress due to a Natural Disaster Predicts Adiposity in Childhood: The Iowa Flood Study

Kelsey N. Dancause | David P. Laplante | ... | Suzanne King
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 534651
  • - Research Article

Early Life Cognitive Abilities and Body Weight: Cross-Sectional Study of the Association of Inhibitory Control, Cognitive Flexibility, and Sustained Attention with BMI Percentiles in Primary School Children

Tamara Wirt | Anja Schreiber | ... | Jürgen M. Steinacker
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 546925
  • - Review Article

Associations of Parental Influences with Physical Activity and Screen Time among Young Children: A Systematic Review

Huilan Xu | Li Ming Wen | Chris Rissel
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 846376
  • - Research Article

Birth Weight, Current Anthropometric Markers, and High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in Brazilian School Children

Camile Boscaini | Lucia Campos Pellanda
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 409742
  • - Research Article

Latino Family Childcare Providers’ Beliefs, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Promotion of Healthy Behaviors among Preschool Children: A Qualitative Study

Ana C. Lindsay | Judith A. Salkeld | ... | Faith D. Sands
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 624023
  • - Research Article

The Intrauterine and Nursing Period Is a Window of Susceptibility for Development of Obesity and Intestinal Tumorigenesis by a High Fat Diet in Min/+ Mice as Adults

Ha Thi Ngo | Ragna Bogen Hetland | Inger-Lise Steffensen
Journal of Obesity
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Acceptance rate11%
Submission to final decision89 days
Acceptance to publication15 days
CiteScore7.400
Journal Citation Indicator0.700
Impact Factor3.3
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