Helping kids most at risk for obesity is possible, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Childhood obesity is a worldwide problem that keeps accelerating, with the kids most at risk from already disadvantaged groups. Now a study co-led by Johns Hopkins pediatrics expert Eliana Perrin shows that a comprehensive texting intervention helps, with kids whose parents got text messages maintaining a healthy growth trajectory for their first two years of life. And that’s unique among the many attempts that have been made.

Perrin: In this pediatric childhood obesity prevention space the vast majority of trials are what we call negative studies, meaning they didn't work. Whatever intervention the researchers were trying to do to prevent obesity it didn't work. The kids were just as overweight as kids who weren't getting whatever intervention. Ours is amongst a very small number that was effective at all. Our intervention was more effective for those children that are at greatest risk for obesity.              :31

Perrin says the text intervention meets people where they are. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.