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Interventions to Promote Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Early...
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Interventions to Promote Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Early Childhood

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 6043

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Nan Zeng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Prevention Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Interests: physical activity; diet behaviors; promoting health; preventing chronic diseases; healthy lifestyle

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Instilling healthy behaviors in early childhood is vital because they can have a lifelong impact. Helping young children adopt a healthy lifestyle can change the course of their lives. These efforts should start from birth and encompass a range of components, including, but not limited to: offering high-quality, nutritious foods through a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) or plant-predominant diet; encouraging daily physical activity, especially through play; fostering positive family and peer social connections; ensuring caregivers avoid exposure to risky substances; promoting optimal sleep habits; and teaching stress management and mindfulness techniques to all family members. These healthy lifestyle behaviors should be introduced from the very start of a child's life by incorporating them into their daily environments. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on these aspects in a child's early years for providing them a healthy foundation for a lifetime of well-being.

This Special Issue is dedicated to publishing original research articles that explore various aspects of lifestyle interventions, specifically those involving a healthy diet in early childhood. We welcome submissions of high-quality research studies, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, observations and intervention.

Dr. Nan Zeng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • early childhood
  • lifestyle intervention
  • physical activity
  • sedentary
  • diet behaviors
  • sleep
  • parenting

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 938 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Complementary Feeding Indicators Among Children Aged 6–23 Months According to the Health Literacy Status of Their Mothers
by Sevim Gonca Kocagozoglu, Meltem Sengelen and Siddika Songul Yalcin
Nutrients 2024, 16(20), 3537; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16203537 - 18 Oct 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1549
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices directly affect child health, development, and survival, especially under 2 years of age and ultimately affect adult life well-being. As the primary caregivers of the children, mothers with higher health literacy may better perceive the [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices directly affect child health, development, and survival, especially under 2 years of age and ultimately affect adult life well-being. As the primary caregivers of the children, mothers with higher health literacy may better perceive the benefits of optimal complementary feeding practices, leading to improved health outcomes for their children. In this study, we aimed to assess complementary feeding practices among children aged 6–23 months in Turkey according to 2021 World Health Organization IYCF indicators [minimum dietary diversity (MDD); minimum meal frequency (MMF); minimum acceptable diet (MAD); egg and/or flesh food consumption (EFF); sweet beverage consumption (SwB); unhealthy food consumption (UFC); zero vegetable or fruit consumption (ZVF); and bottle feeding (BoF)] and investigate their associations with sociodemographic characteristics and mothers’ health literacy. Methods: With a descriptive study design, we reached 572 mothers of children aged 6–23 months from five regions of Turkey. We used the Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 (TSOY-32) to assess mothers’ health literacy. Results: While maternal and child age are significantly associated with more complementary feeding practices, specifically MDD, MAD, and EFF, having multiple children has negative impacts on several complementary feeding indicators, including MDD, MMF, MAD, UFC, and ZVF. The only indicator associated with mothers’ TSOY-32 scores was zero fruit and vegetable consumption. Conclusion: Raising awareness among mothers about the importance of complementary feeding practices and identification of vulnerable groups will guide practitioners and policymakers to improve child health and nutrition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interventions to Promote Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Early Childhood)
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12 pages, 519 KiB  
Article
Impact of the Physical Activity Environment on Change in Body Mass Index Percentile in Child Care Centers Serving Children with Disabilities
by Martha H. Bloyer, Ruixuan Ma, Yaray Agosto, Carolina Velasquez, Katheryn Espina, Joanne Palenzuela, Michelle Schladant, Julieta Hernandez, Sarah E. Messiah and Ruby Natale
Nutrients 2024, 16(15), 2457; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16152457 - 29 Jul 2024
Viewed by 2124
Abstract
Childcare centers (CCCs) can provide opportunities to implement physical activity (PA) via health promotion interventions to prevent obesity and associated chronic disease risk factors in young children. This study evaluated the impact of the Healthy Caregivers-Healthy Children (HC2) intervention on body mass index [...] Read more.
Childcare centers (CCCs) can provide opportunities to implement physical activity (PA) via health promotion interventions to prevent obesity and associated chronic disease risk factors in young children. This study evaluated the impact of the Healthy Caregivers-Healthy Children (HC2) intervention on body mass index percentile (PBMI) and the PA environment in CCCs serving children with disabilities (CWD) over one school year. Ten CCCs were cluster-randomized to either (1) an intervention arm that received the HC2 curriculum adapted for CWD or (2) an attention control arm. Mixed-effect linear regression models analyzed the relationship between change in child PBMI and CCC childcare center PA environment by experimental condition and child disability status over one school year. Findings showed a significant decrease in PBMI among children in the HC2 centers (−6.74, p = 0.007) versus those in control centers (−1.35, p = 0.74) over one school year. Increased PA staff behaviors (mean change 3.66, p < 0.001) and PA policies (mean change 6.12, p < 0.001) were shown in intervention centers during the same period. Conversely, there was a significant increase in sedentary opportunities (mean change 4.45, p < 0.001) and a decrease in the portable play environment (mean change −3.16, p = 0.03) and fixed play environment (mean change −2.59, p = 0.04) in control centers. No significant differences were found in PBMI changes between CWD and children without disabilities (beta = 1.62, 95% CI [−7.52, 10.76], p = 0.73), suggesting the intervention’s efficacy does not differ by disability status. These results underscore the importance of (1) including young CWD and (2) PA and the supporting environment in CCC health promotion and obesity prevention interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interventions to Promote Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Early Childhood)
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15 pages, 546 KiB  
Systematic Review
Associations Between Combinations of 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Dietary Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review
by Nan Zeng, Shan Jiang, Abigail Ringer, Catalina Pacheco, Chunmei Zheng and Sunyue Ye
Nutrients 2024, 16(21), 3678; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16213678 - 29 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1710
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Twenty-four-hour movement behaviors, including physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep, are associated with a range of health outcomes. However, the relationship between the combinations of these behaviors and dietary outcomes in young populations remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review to [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Twenty-four-hour movement behaviors, including physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep, are associated with a range of health outcomes. However, the relationship between the combinations of these behaviors and dietary outcomes in young populations remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review to explore how combined movement behaviors are linked to dietary outcomes in children and adolescents. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO from January 2017 to July 2024, including studies that were (1) written in English, (2) published in peer-reviewed journals, (3) quantitatively analyzed two or three movement behaviors with dietary outcomes, and (4) focused on populations aged between 0 and 18 years. Results: Ten cross-sectional studies met these criteria. The majority of studies (6 out of 10) assessed all three movement behaviors, although sleep was less frequently examined, appearing in only 4 of the studies. Our findings indicated that adhering to all movement recommendations was consistently associated with healthier dietary patterns, including a higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, and cereals, and a lower intake of sweets and pastries. Additionally, adhering to physical activity and sedentary time guidelines was linked to improved dietary habits in children, including more fruit and vegetable intake and less sugary drink and snack consumption. Conversely, higher sedentary time and inadequate sleep were linked to poorer dietary outcomes, particularly lower fruit intake and hydration. Conclusions: This review suggests that meeting movement behavior guidelines correlates with healthier dietary outcomes in children and adolescents. However, given the limited number of studies and their cross-sectional design, further high-quality research, including longitudinal and intervention studies, is needed to clarify causal relationships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interventions to Promote Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Early Childhood)
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