Obesity prevention in school-aged children: An integrative literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i3.50798Keywords:
Child, Primary prevention, Pediatric obesity.Abstract
Introduction: Childhood obesity has increased globally and is a serious public health problem. In Brazil, the nutritional transition has led to an increase in overweight, with contributing factors. This condition can cause metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, social impacts, and higher healthcare costs. Preventing it requires a multidisciplinary approach and family involvement. This article aims to review the literature to support the creation of an educational video on the prevention and non-pharmacological treatment of childhood obesity. Methodology: This study is a literature review on the prevention of childhood obesity. Results and discussion: Prevention involves multicomponent approaches, including changes in nutrition, behavior (sleep and screen time), and physical activity. School-based interventions, combined with family participation, are effective, especially through teacher training and parental involvement in promoting healthy food and exercise choices. Nutrition education in schools is also important. Conclusion: Preventing childhood obesity requires an integrated approach involving family, school, and healthcare, combining improvements in diet, physical activity, sleep, and screen time. Collaboration among these sectors is essential, although socioeconomic barriers and parental misconceptions remain challenges.
References
Aprelini, C. M. O., et al. (2021). Tendência da prevalência do sobrepeso e obesidade no Espírito Santo: estudo ecológico, 2009-2018. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde, 30(3).
Aychiluhm, S. B., Mondal, U. K., Isaac, V., Ross, A. G., & Ahmed, K. Y. (2024). Interventions for childhood central obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 7(1), e2350489.https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50489.
Beshti, M. M., Su, T. T., Farid, N. D. N., & Azzani, M. (2022). Parents’ perception of child weight status, risk factors and health concern of childhood obesity: A systematic review. Life Sciences-Childhood Obesity. International Journal of Life Sciences & Pharmaceutical Research, 10, 15-32.
Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. (2023). Dados do Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional (SISVAN) indicam que cerca de 14,2% das crianças brasileiras menores de 5 anos apresentaram excesso de peso ou obesidade. Veja Saúde. https://veja.abril.com.br/saude/obesidade-infantil-triplicou-nas-ultimas-duas-decadas-no-brasil/.
Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. (2022). Situação alimentar e nutricional de crianças na atenção primária à saúde no Brasil. Brasília, DF: MS.
Butland, B., Jebb, S., Kopelman, P., McPherson, K., Thomas, S., Mardell, J., & Parry, V. (2023). Causes of obesity: A review. Clinical Medicine, 23(4), 284–289. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.2023-0143.
Cardozo, N. O., et al. (2022). Ambiente alimentar e excesso de peso em escolares: uma revisão sistemática sul-americana. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 46(164).
Chandran, A., et al. (2023). Changes in body mass index among school-aged youths following implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. JAMA Pediatrics, 177(4), 401-409.
Cohen, J., & Schwartz, M. B. (2020). Documented success and future potential of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120(3), 359-362.
Costa, J. S. P., et al. (2023). Padrão de consumo alimentar e excesso de peso em pré-escolares: estudo transversal. Revista de Epidemiologia e Controle de Infecção, 12(4).
Coupe, N., et al. (2022). Educators' experiences and perspectives of child weight discussions with parents in primary school settings. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 808.
Crossetti, M. G. O. (2012). Revisão integrative de pesquisa na enfermagem o rigor científico que lhe é exigido. Rev Gaúcha Enferm. 33(2):8-9.
Denova-Gutierrez, E., et al. (2023). Overview of systematic reviews of health interventions for the prevention and treatment and obesity in children. Nutrients, 15(3), 773.
De Oliveira, I. L. O., Da Silva, B. R. O., & Campbell, C. S. G. (2023). Enfrentamento da obesidade infantil: ações familiares, condutas médicas e multidisciplinares de educação em saúde. Brazilian Journal of Health Review, 6(2), 8145-8155.
Gato-Moreno, M., et al. (2021). Early nutritional education in the prevention of childhood obesity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12).
Gearan, E. C., & Fox, M. K. (2020). Updated nutrition standards have significantly improved the nutritional quality of school lunches and breakfasts. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120(3), 363-370.
Guobo, L., et al. (2022). Physical changes of preschool children during COVID-19 school closures in Fujian, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20).
Juric, P., et al. (2023). Effectiveness of a population-scaled, school-based physical activity intervention for the prevention of childhood obesity. Obesity, 31(3), 811-822.
Liu, Z., et al. (2022). Effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention for prevention of obesity in primary school children in China: A cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics, 176(1).
Long, K. Z., et al. (2022). Impact of a school-based health intervention program on body composition among South African primary school children: Results from the KaziAfya cluster-randomized controlled trial. BMC Medicine, 20(1).
Louro, M. B. (2022). Determinantes do ganho rápido de peso e a sua influência no estado nutricional infantil (Monografia). Belo Horizonte.
Lung, T., Hayes, A., Baur, L. A., et al. (2025). Socioeconomic differences in the cost-effectiveness of a telephone-based intervention for obesity prevention in early childhood. International Journal of Obesity. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-025-01904-4.
Moliterno, P., Franceschini, S., Donhauser, V., & Widhalm, K. (2024). How parents perceive their children's body weight: Insights from a sample of schoolchildren from Vienna, Austria. Nutrients, 16(23), 4094. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16234094.
Obita, G., & Alkhatib, A. (2023). Effectiveness of lifestyle nutrition and physical activity interventions for childhood obesity and associated comorbidities among children from minority ethnic groups: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients, 15(11), 2524.
Omar, O. M., et al. (2022). Effect of early feeding practice and eating behaviors on body composition in primary school children. World Journal of Pediatrics, 18(9), 613-623.
Pereira, A. R., & Oliveira, A. (2021). Dietary interventions to prevent childhood obesity: A literature review. Nutrients, 13(10).
Pereira, A. S. et al. (2018). Metodologia da pesquisa científica. [free ebook]. Santa Maria: Editora da UFSM.
Pereira, I. F. S., et al. (2022). Estado nutricional de menores de 5 anos de idade no Brasil: Evidências da polarização epidemiológica nutricional. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 22(10), 3341–3352.
Ray, D., et al. (2022). Barriers and facilitators to implementing practices for prevention of childhood obesity in primary care: A mixed method systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 23(4).
Risemberg, R. I. C. et al. (2026). A importância da metodologia científica no desenvolvimento de artigos científicos. E- Acadêmica, 7 (1), e0171675. https://eacademica.org/eacademica/article/view/675.
Rozga, M., & Handu, D. (2023). Nutrition interventions for pediatric obesity prevention: An umbrella review of systematic reviews. Nutrients, 15(24).
Sanders, G. J., et al. (2022). Efficacy of a county-wide schools weight management intervention. Perspectives in Public Health, 142(6), 319-327.
Santiago-Vieira, C., Velásquez-Meléndez, G., Ribeiro-Silva, R. de C., Pinto, E. de J., Barreto, M. L., & Li, L. (2024). Corrigendum to “Recent changes in growth trajectories: A population-based cohort study of over 5 million Brazilian children born between 2001 and 2014”. The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 34, Article 100787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2024.100787.
Smith, J. (2024). School meals in the UK: ultra-processed, unequal and inadequate. Journal of Public Health Nutrition (ou similar — disponível via PMC). Recuperado de https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11077439/.
Snelling, A., et al. (2023). The role of teachers in addressing childhood obesity: A school-based approach. Nutrients, 15(18), 3981.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research. 104, 333-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039.
Suwannawong, P. R., et al. (2023). Ecological system theory and community participation to promote healthy food environment for obesity and non-communicable diseases prevention among school-age children. Public Health Nutrition, 26(7), 1488-1500.
Unicef. (2025). Feeding profit: How food environments are failing children. In Child Nutrition Report 2025. UNICEF. https://data.unicef.org/resources/feeding-profit-2025-child-nutrition-report/.
Vajravelu, M. E., Tas, E., & Arslanian, S. (2023). Pediatric obesity: Complications and current day management. Life, 13(7), 1591. https://doi.org/10.3390/life1307159.
Viljakainen, H., et al. (2024). Delayed bedtime on non-school days associates with higher weight and waist circumference in children: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses with Mendelian randomization. Journal of Sleep Research, 33(3).
World Health Organization (WHO). (2021). Levels and trends in child malnutrition: UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Group – Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates 2021 Edition.
Xu, A., Guerlich, K., Koletzko, B., & Grote, V. (2025). Nutrition interventions in the first 1000 days and long-term health outcomes: A systematic review. Pediatric Research. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-04215-6.
Yang, Q., Wu, Z., Xie, Y., et al. (2021).The impact of health education videos on general public’s mental health and behavior during COVID-19. Global Health Research and Policy, 6, Article 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41256-021-00211-5.
Zhang, Y., Liu, J., Wang, Y., Li, L., & Chen, P. (2023). Comparative effectiveness of lifestyle interventions on children’s body composition management: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 24(10), e13589. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13589.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Júlia de Moura Carvalho Faria, Veyda Lívia Monteiro Alves, Kamylly Reina Carneiro de Mendonça

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
