| Background: Childhood obesity persists as a serious public health problem. In the current meta-analysis, we
summarized the results of controlled trials that evaluated the effect of obesity prevention policies in children and
adolescents.
Methods: Three databases (SCOPUS, PubMed, and Embase) were searched for studies published before the 6th of April
2020, by reported outcome measures of body mass index (BMI) and BMI-Zscore. Forty-seven studies reported BMI,
while 45 studies reported BMI-Zscore as an outcome.
Results: The results showed that the obesity-prevention policies had a significant effect on reducing BMI (WMD:
− 0.127; CI − 0.198, − 0.056; P < 0.001). These changes were not significant for BMI-Zscore (WMD: − 0.020; CI − 0.061,
0.021; P = 0.340). In dose-response meta-analysis, a non-linear association was reported between the duration of
intervention and BMI (
Pnonlinearity < 0.001) as well as BMI-Zscore (
Pnonlinearity = 0.023). In subgroup analysis, the more
favorite results were observed for 5–10 years old, with a combination of physical activity and diet as an intervention
materials.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the obesity prevention policies in short-term periods of less than 2 years, in rather early
age of school with approaches to change in both diet and physical activity could be more effective in the prevention
of childhood obesity.
Trial registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019138359 |