Involvement of Non-Parental Caregivers in Obesity Prevention Interventions among 0–3-Year-Old Children: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction: We examined the scope of literature including non-parental caregiver involvement in children obesity prevention interventions. Methods: We conducted a scoping review following the Arksey and O’Malley framework, including only interventionreporting the effect of an intervention on growth, weight, or early childhood obesity risk among children ages 0 to three years, published between 2000 and 2021. Interventions that did not include non-parental caregivers (adults regularly involved in childcare other than parents) were excluded. Results: Of the 14 studies that met the inclusion criteria, all were published between 2013 and 2020, and most interventions (n = 9) were implemented in the United States. Eight of the 14 interventions purposefully included other non-parental caregivers: five included both parents and non-parental caregivers, and the remaining three included only non-parental caregivers. Most interventions (n = 9) showed no significant impact on anthropometric outcomes. All interventions found improvements in at least one behavioral outcome (e.g., food groups intake (n = 5), parental feeding practices (n = 3), and screen time (n = 2)). This review can inform future interventions that plan to involve non-parental caregivers, which may be beneficial in shaping early health behaviors and preventing obesity early in life.

A Systematic Review of Research on Non-Maternal Caregivers’ Feeding of Children 0–3 Years

“…Regarding implications for practice, intervention to promote healthy growth and prevent obesity in early childhood is sorely needed to address early childhood obesity, the prevalence of which has doubled in the United States (USA) from the 1970s to the 21st century [ 71 , 72 ]. Few existing interventions include NMCs [ 10 ], and those that do tend to apply lessons learned from mothers. Although more research on NMCs is needed (see next section), this review has highlighted not only the possibilities for intervention among NMCs but also NMC-specific issues that could be addressed in intervention research.…”

“…In particular, responsive feeding is recommended for anyone who feeds an infant or toddler because it is associated with healthy growth and lower obesity risk [ 9 ]. However, most research on feeding young children has focused on mothers [ 10 ]. Emerging evidence shows the importance of the role that non-maternal caregivers (NMCs) play in feeding [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Validity and Reliability of the Chinese Version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for Fathers of Newborns

“…The primary caregiver for infants and toddlers has traditionally been the mother and/or nonparental caregivers such as grandparents or other household members. As more women began to work outside the home, this shared employment brought about changes in childrearing, which has resulted in more shared childrearing with both mothers and fathers ( Kahan & Adesman, 2019 ; Ramirez et al, 2022 ; Swanson et al, 2017 ). This change in expectations of shared caregiving has had adverse effects on the psychological health of fathers who are unable to share in the care of their infant ( Chen et al, 2010 ; Reisz et al, 2019 ; Swanson et al, 2017 ).…”