Specific text messages to parents help slow down childhood obesity, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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How can we stem the rising tide of childhood obesity? Start in infancy and engage parents personally. That’s the conclusion of a study co-led by Eliana Perrin, a pediatrics expert and study author, using a variety of text messages crafted as goals sent to parents beginning when their children were very young.

Perrin: We would have messages around not needing to start sugar sweetened beverages early, delaying that as much as possible. And when they started limiting it both in terms of the kinds of beverage choices they were giving their kids but also watering down juices if they were in the habit of giving juices. Watching less TV, being more active and for infants that means tummy time. And later on that means that instead of being in the stroller all the time we would have the kid push the stroller.          :30

Perrin says this text intervention helped children remain on a healthy trajectory for length and weight for their first two years of life, as well as creating healthy habits. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.