Community-based health promotion for prevention of childhood obesity

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: April 09, 2015 | Revision accepted: September 06, 2015

Study design of a project in Leipzig-Grünau

Introduction

In spite of stagnating rates of prevalence [1], the proportion of overweight and obese children and adolescents in Germany is still significant (currently 15 %) [2]. The latest publications report 5.1 % of overweight and 3.3 % of obese children starting school in Saxony [3]. At the same time, there has been only limited success in the treatment [4, 5] and prevention of overweight and obesity [6]. As described in a recent review, personalized intervention studies to treat overweight and obesity among children and adolescents have achieved only limited effects [5], although the “dose” of intervention is significantly higher than in setting-based preventive approaches.

Socially-disadvantaged groups – usually those with the greatest obstacles and the greatest need for support – are particularly difficult to reach through “traditional” person-centered programs such as e.g. individual counselling services and courses [7], i.e. they rarely attend and are less likely to profit.

Summary

The project Grünau Bewegt Sich (Grünau Moves) aims to develop behavioral and environmental approaches to obesity prevention in a disadvantaged area of the city and to evaluate their effectiveness. The project is based on the planning models of PRECEDE-PROCEED and intervention mapping. The project centers on a comprehensive analysis of the starting situation in the area of intervention, and continued involvement by relevant stakeholders from local institutions, government, and families, whom the development of appropriate, effective and sustainable prevention strategies aims to support. The study design presented in this article uses different methodological approaches which aim to illustrate changes on individual, institutional and environmental levels. One of the project’s key strengths is the combination of various scientific, professional and realworld perspectives, which enable the capture and interpretation of processes and effects in the area of intervention.

Keywords: health promotion, community-based participatory research, behavioral prevention, environmental prevention, childhood obesity, community project, intervention mapping, PRECEDE-PROCEED

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