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. 2024 Aug 2;16(15):2538.
doi: 10.3390/nu16152538.

The Prevention of Childhood Obesity Is a Priority: The Preliminary Results of the "EpPOI: Education to Prevent Childhood Obesity" Project

Debora Porri  1   2 , Giovanni Luppino  1 , Letteria Anna Morabito  2 , Elisa La Rosa  2 , Giorgia Pepe  1   2 , Domenico Corica  1   2 , Mariella Valenzise  1   2 , Maria Francesca Messina  1   2 , Giuseppina Zirilli  1   2 , Alessandra Li Pomi  1 , Angela Alibrandi  3 , Debora Di Mauro  4 , Tommaso Aversa  1   2 , Malgorzata Gabriela Wasniewska  1   2
Affiliations

The Prevention of Childhood Obesity Is a Priority: The Preliminary Results of the "EpPOI: Education to Prevent Childhood Obesity" Project

Debora Porri et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: The increase in childhood obesity rates represents a serious public health problem. The project "EpPOI: Education to prevent childhood obesity" is aimed at a multidisciplinary approach to raise awareness of the importance of preventing childhood obesity through lifestyle education.

Methods: Two actions by experts were performed: an intervention with children in schools and a meeting for both parents and school staff. Participants completed a questionnaire structured as a Likert scale.

Results: The sample size was 96 people, and awareness of the childhood obesity problem as well as the need for obesity prevention was high among respondents. We also found great interest among participants in having more information on pediatric nutrition and physical activity, with a positive correlation with age. Furthermore, the multivariate regression model configured interest in having more information on nutrition and physical activity as an independent and statistically significant predictor of awareness of childhood obesity as a current issue.

Conclusions: The results highlight the need to act on childhood obesity through lifestyle prevention strategies early in life.

Keywords: childhood obesity; childhood obesity prevention; lifestyle intervention; pediatric nutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Milestones of EpPOI project.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Radar chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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