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Summary The current review aimed to systematically identify dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours in preschool children (4-6 years of age) that are prospectively related to overweight or obesity later in childhood. Prospective studies published between January 1990 and June 2010 were selected from searches in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane Library. Studies examining the prospective association between at least one relevant behaviour measured during preschool period (children aged 4-6 years at baseline) in relation to at least one anthropometric measurement at follow-up (age <18 years) were included. Harvest plots were used to summarize the results and draw conclusions from the evidence. Of the 8,718 retrieved papers, 23 papers reporting on 15 different study samples were included in this review. Strong evidence was found for an inverse association between total physical activity and overweight. Moderate evidence was observed for a positive association between television viewing and overweight. Because of the heterogeneity in the assessed dietary behaviours, insufficient evidence was found for an association between dietary intake or specific dietary behaviours and overweight. These results suggest that interventions aiming to prevent overweight among preschool children should focus on promotion of total physical activity and limitation of screen time and that further research is needed to establish whether and which dietary behaviours are important for obesity prevention in this age group. However, despite the lack of evidence for dietary behaviours from the present review, future interventions may already target specific dietary behaviours that are highly prevalent and for which there a clear rationale as well as preliminary evidence that these behaviours are associated with overweight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This study aimed to (i) gain insight in the prevalence of overweight indices in European preschoolers (4-7 years); (ii) identify energy balance-related behaviours associated with overweight/obesity; and (iii) identify children at risk for overweight/obesity. Secondary analyses of six European data sets were conducted according to standardized protocols. Based on objectively measured height and weight, prevalence of overweight and obesity across the countries ranged from 8% to 30% and 1% to 13%, respectively, with highest rates in Southern European countries (i.e. Spain and Greece). Positive associations between sedentary behaviours and overweight indices were found. Physical activity and dietary behaviours were not associated, possibly because of methodological limitations. Children of parents with high body mass index or low socioeconomic status were at increased risk of overweight/obesity. In conclusion, large differences in prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschoolers across Europe were observed. Future obesity prevention interventions in preschoolers should target screen time giving specific attention to children from overweight and/or low socioeconomic status parents. There is a need for high methodological quality studies, preferably with a long-term prospective design using sensitive, valid and reliable measures of behaviours, assessing whether and which physical activity and dietary behaviours are associated with overweight in preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]