A Review of Household Behaviors for Preventing Obesity in Children

With obesity on the rise in children as well as adults, finding ways to prevent childhood obesity has become a pressing concern for both health care providers and parents. Yet, determining the best prevention method is difficult because the problem does not have a single cause and there are few scientific studies examining the impacts of specific interventions. This report reviews 17 behaviors proposed for maintaining healthy weight in children that could possibly be altered in the home setting. The behaviors were ranked on the basis of evidence that, if practiced, they (1) could prevent obesity, (2) would be unlikely to cause harm, and (3) might improve aspects of child well-being aside from maintaining a healthy body weight. Under these criteria, the behaviors that could most strongly be recommended for children were reducing “screen time†(time spent watching TV or videotapes, using the computer, or playing video games); playing outside more often; and consuming appropriate portion sizes, especially when drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and eating away from home.