Community coalition efforts to prevent childhood obesity: two-year results of the Shape Up Under 5 study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cross-sector collaborations and coalitions are promising approaches for childhood obesity prevention, yet there is little empirical evidence about how they affect change. We hypothesized that changes in knowledge of, and engagement with, childhood obesity prevention among coalition members can diffuse through social networks to influence policies, systems, and environments.

Methods

We studied a community coalition (N = 16, Shape Up Under 5 "SUU5 Committee") focused on early childhood obesity prevention in Somerville, MA from 2015-17. Knowledge, engagement, and social network data were collected from Committee members and their network contacts (n = 193) at five timepoints over two years. Policy, systems, and environment data were collected from the SUU5 Committee.

SUBMITTER: Economos CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10026415 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature