Mobile-based intervention intended to stop obesity in preschool-aged children: the MINISTOP randomized controlled trial.

Traditional obesity prevention programs are time- and cost-intensive. Mobile phone technology has been successful in changing behaviors and managing weight; however, to our knowledge, its potential in young children has yet to be examined. We assessed the effectiveness of a mobile health (mHealth) obesity prevention program on body fat, dietary habits, and physical activity in healthy Swedish children aged 4.5 y. From 2014 to 2015, 315 children were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Parents in the intervention group received a 6-mo mHealth program. The primary outcome was fat mass index (FMI), whereas the secondary outcomes were intakes of fruits, vegetables, candy, and sweetened beverages and time spent sedentary and in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Composite scores for the primary and secondary outcomes were computed. No statistically significant intervention effect was observed for FMI between the intervention and control group (mean ± SD: -0.23 ± 0.56 compared with -0.20 ± 0.49 kg/m). However, the intervention group increased their mean composite score from baseline to follow-up, whereas the control group did not (+0.36 ± 1.47 compared with -0.06 ± 1.33 units; = 0.021). This improvement was more pronounced among the children with an FMI above the median (4.11 kg/m) ( = 0.019). The odds of increasing the composite score for the 6 dietary and physical activity behaviors were 99% higher for the intervention group than the control group ( = 0.008). This mHealth obesity prevention study in preschool-aged children found no difference between the intervention and control group for FMI. However, the intervention group showed a considerably higher postintervention composite score (a secondary outcome) than the control group, especially in children with a higher FMI. Further studies targeting specific obesity classes within preschool-aged children are warranted. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02021786.