Abstract
Objective:
To outline the rationale, objectives and strategies used in a systematically designed research programmme to study specific weight gain-inducing behaviours, their social–psychological as well as environmental determinants, and the effects of interventions aimed at the prevention of weight gain.
Design:
The evidence for potential behavioural determinants and strategies to prevent weight gain was reviewed, and the methods applied within the Netherlands Research programme weight gain prevention (NHF-NRG) project were described. The project is designed according to the Intervention Mapping protocol.
Setting:
The Netherlands.
Subjects:
The main target groups are (a) adolescents (12–16 y) in secondary school, (b) young adults (20–40 y) at the workplace and (c) recently retired people (55–65 y) at home.
Interventions:
Each intervention includes an individual component, in which computer-tailored information is provided. Additionally, interventions are aimed at changing environmental components.
Results:
The short-term results of this project can be expected by the beginning of 2005. Guidelines for nationwide weight gain prevention, based on this research programme, will become available in 2007.
Conclusions:
Based on the few interventions that were evaluated to date, no robust conclusions can be drawn regarding the effectiveness of obesity prevention. The systematic and multidisciplinary design of the NHF-NRG programme enables the identification of potentially effective methods and strategies for the prevention of weight gain.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Institute for Health Sciences, Free University, Amsterdam
Centre for Prevention and Health Care Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven
Department of Social Medicine and Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam
Knowledge Centre Overweight, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam
Department of Health Education and Promotion, Maastricht University
Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam
Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University
Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University
References
Astrup A (2001): Healthy lifestyles in Europe: prevention of obesity and type II diabetes by diet and physical activity. Public Health Nutr. 4, 499–515.
Bar-Or O, Foreyt J, Bouchard C, Brownell KD, Dietz WH, Ravussin E, Salbe AD, Schwenger S, St Jeor S & Torun B (1998): Physical activity, genetic, and nutritional considerations in childhood weight management. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 30, 2–10.
Bartholomew LK, Parcel GS, Kok G & Gottlieb NH (2001): Intervention Mapping: Designing Theory- and Eveidence-Based Health Promotion Programs. Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Basdevant A, Boute D & Borys JM (1999): Who should be educated? Education strategies: could children educate their parents? Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 23 (Suppl), S10–S12; S12–S13.
Booth SL, Ritenbaugh C, Sallis JF, Hill JO, Birch LL, Frank LD, Glanz K, Himmelgreen DA, Mudd M, Popkin BM, Rickard KA, St Jeor S & Hays NP (2001): Environmental and societal factors affect food choice and physical activity: rationale, influences, and leverage points. Nutr. Rev. 59 (Suppl), S21–S39.
Brown WJ & Trost SG (2003): Life transitions and changing physical activity patterns in young women. Am. J. Prev. Med. 25, 140–143.
Brug J, Campbell M & Van Assema P (1999): The application and impact of computer-generated personalised nutrition education: a review of the literature. Patient Educ. Couns. 36, 145–156.
Brug J, Glanz K & Kok GJ (1997): The relationship between self-efficacy, attitudes, intake compared to others, consumption, and stages of change related to fruit and vegetables. Am. J. Health Promot. 12, 25–30.
Campbell K, Water E, O’Meara S & Summerbell C (2001): Interventions for preventing obesity in children (Cochrane Review). In The Cochrane Library Issue 2 Oxford: Update Software.
Carraro R & Garcia Cebrian M (2003): Role of prevention in the contention of the obesity epidemic. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 57 (Suppl), S94–S96.
Colditz GA (1999): Economic costs of obesity and inactivity. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 31 (Suppl), S663–S667.
Darmon N, Ferguson E & Briend A (2003): Do economic constraints encourage the selection of energy dense diets? Appetite 41, 315–322.
Douketis JD, Feightner JW, Attia J, Feldman WF & with the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (1999): Periodic health examination, 1999 update: 1. Detection, prevention and treatment of obesity. CMAJ 160, 513–525.
Felson DT, Zhang Y, Hannan MT, Naimark A, Weissman B, Aliabadi P & Levy D (1997): Risk factors for incident radiographic knee osteoarthritis in the elderly: The Framingham Study. Arthritis Rheum. 40, 728–733.
Flay BR & Petraitis J (1994): The theory of triadic influence: a new theory of health behaviour with implications for preventive interventions. Adv. Med. Soc. 4, 19–44.
Flegal KM (1999): The obesity epidemic in children and adults: current evidence and research issues. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 31 (Suppl), S509–S514.
Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kuczmarski RJ & Johnson CL (1998): Overweight and obesity in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1960–1994. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 22, 39–47.
Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL & Johnson CL (2002): Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000. JAMA 288, 1723–1727.
Garner DM & Wooley SC (1997): Confronting the failure of behavioural and dietary treatments for obesity. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 11, 573–578.
Giles-Corti B & Donovan RJ (2003): Relative influences of individual, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of walking. Am. J. Public Health 93, 1583–1589.
Giles-Corti B, Macintyre S, Clarkson JP, Pikora T & Donovan RJ (2003): Environmental and lifestyle factors associated with overweight and obesity in Perth, Australia. Am. J. Health Promot. 18, 93–102.
Glasgow RE & Terborg JR (1988): Occupational health promotion programs to reduce cardiovascular risk. J. Cons. Clin. Psych. 56, 365–373.
Glenny AM, O’Meara S, Melville A, Sheldon TA & Wilson C (1997): The treatment and prevention of obesity: a systematic review of the literature. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 21, 715–737.
Golan M & Crow S (2004): Parents are key players in the prevention and treatment of weight-related problems. Nutr. Rev. 62, 39–50.
Green LW & Kreuter MW (1999): Health Promotion Planning: An Educational and Ecological Approach, 3rd edition. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Hardeman W, Griffin S, Johnston M, Kinmonth AL & Wareman NJ (2000): Interventions to prevent weight gain: a systematic review of psychological models and behaviour change methods. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 24, 131–143.
Hill JO & Peters JC (1998): Environmental contributions to the obesity epidemic. Science 280, 1371–1374.
Hirasing RA, Fredriks AM, van Buuren S, Verloove-Vanhorick SP & Wit JM (2001): Increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in Dutch children, and the detection of overweight and obesity using international criteria and new reference diagrams. Ned. Tijdschr. Geneeskd. 145, 1303–1308 (in Dutch).
Hoelscher DM, Evans A, Parcel GS & Kelder SH (2002): Designing effective nutrition interventions for adolescents. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 102 (Suppl), S52–S63.
Jeffery RW (1998): Prevention of obesity. In Handbook of Obesity, eds G Bray, C Bouchard & P James pp 819–830. New York: Dekker.
Jeffery RW, Gray CW, French SA, Hellerstedt WL, Murray D, Luepker RV & Blackburn H (1995): Evaluation of weight reduction in a community intervention for cardiovascular disease risk: changes in body mass index in the Minnesota Heart Health Program. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 19, 30–39.
Kayman S, Bruvold W & Stern JS (1990): Maintenance and relapse after weight loss in women: behavioral aspects. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 52, 800–807.
Kemper HC, Stasse-Wolthuis M & Bosman W (2004): The prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity. Summary of the advisory report by the Health Council of The Netherlands. Neth. J. Med. 62, 10–17.
Kirk TR (2000): Role of dietary carbohydrate and frequent eating in body-weight control. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 59, 348–358.
Kohrt WM, Malley MT, Dalskey GP & Holloszy JO (1992): Body composition of healthy sedentary and trained young and older men and women. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 24, 832–837.
Kremers SPJ, Brug J, De Vries H & Engels RCME (2003): Parenting style and adolescent fruit consumption. Appetite 41, 43–50.
Kromhout D, Bloemberg B, Seidell JC, Nissinen A & Menotti A (2001): Physical activity and dietary fiber determine population body fat levels: the Seven Countries Study. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 25, 301–306.
Kromhout D, Saris WH & Horst CH (1988): Energy intake, energy expenditure, and smoking in relation to body fatness: the Zutphen Study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 47, 668–674.
Lechner L, Brug J, De Vries H, Van Assema P & Mudde AN (1998): Stages of change for fruit, vegetable and fat intake: consequences of misconception. Health Educ. Res. 13, 1–11.
Ludwig DS, Peterson KE & Gortmaker SL (2001): Relation between consumption of sweetend drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis. Lancet 357, 505–508.
Madsen J, Sallis JF, Rupp JW, Senn KL, Patterson TL, Atkins CJ & Nader PR (1993): Relationship between self-monitoring of diet and exercise change and subsequent risk factor changes in children and adults. Patient Educ. Couns. 21, 61–69.
Manson JE, Skerrett PJ, Greenland P & VanItallie TB (2004): The escalating pandemics of obesity and sedentary lifestyle: a call to action for clinicians. Arch. Intern. Med. 164, 249–258.
Müller MJ, Mast M, Asbeck I, Langnase K & Grund A (2001): Prevention of obesity—is it possible? Obes. Rev. 2, 15–28.
NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (NHS CRD) (1997): A systematic review of the interventions for the prevention and treatment of obesity, and the maintenance of weight loss CRD Report 10 University of York.
NHS Health Development Agency (NHS HDA) (2003): The Management of Obesity and Overweight. An Analysis of Reviews of Diet, Physical Activity and Behavioural Approaches. London: Health Development Agency.
Oenema A & Brug J (2003): Feedback strategies to raise awareness of personal dietary intake: results of a randomized controlled trial. Prev. Med. 36, 429–439.
Oster G, Thompson D, Edelsberg J, Bird AP & Colditz GA (1999): Lifetime health and economic benefits of weight loss among obese persons. Am. J. Public Health 89, 1536–1542.
Owen N, Humpel N, Leslie E, Bauman A & Sallis JF (2004): Understanding environmental influences on walking. Review and research agenda. Am. J. Prev. Med. 27, 67–76.
Pikora T, Giles-Corti B, Bull F, Jamrozik K & Donovan R (2003): Developing a framework for assesment of environmental determinants of walking and cycling. Soc. Sci. Med. 56, 1693–1703.
Povey R, Conner M, Sparks P, James R & Shepherd R (1999): A critical examination of the application of the transtheoretical model's stages of change to dietary behaviours. Health Educ. Res. 14, 641–651.
Rogers EM (1995): Diffusion of innovations, (4th Edition) New York: Free Press.
Ronda G, Van Assema P & Brug J (2002): Stages of change, psychological factors and awareness of physical activity levels in the Netherlands. Health Promot. Int. 16, 305–314.
Russell CM, Williamson DF & Byers T (1995): Can the Year 2000 objective for reducing overweight in the United States be reached?: a simulation study of the required changes in body weight. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 19, 149–153.
Schmitz MK & Jeffery RW (2000): Public health interventions for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Med. Clin. North Am. 84, 491–512.
Seidell JC (1995): The impact of obesity on health status: some implications for health care costs. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 19 (Suppl 6), S13–S16.
Seidell JC (2000): The current epidemic of obesity. In Physical Activity and Obesity ed C Bouchard pp 21–30. Campaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Statistics Netherlands [Homepage on the Internet] (2004): Voorburg/Heerlen, CBS Webmagazine c2004 [updated 2004 April 06; cited 2004 September 01]. Available fromhttp://www.cbs.nl/en/publications/articles/webmagazine/2004/1428k.htm.
Sturm R & Wells KB (2001): Does obesity contribute as much to morbidity as poverty or smoking? Public Health 115, 229–235.
Swinburn B, Egger G & Raza F (1999): Dissecting obesogenic environments: the development and application of a framework for identifying and prioritizing environmental interventions for obesity. Prev. Med. 29, 563–570.
Tones K (2000): Evaluating health promotion—beyond the RCT. In Best Practices: a Selection of Papers on Quality and Effectiveness in Health Promotion eds L Norheim & M Waller pp 86–101. Helsinki: Finnish Centre for Health Promotion.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) (2001): The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Van Lenthe FJ, Kemper HC, van Mechelen W & Twisk JW (1996): Development and tracking of central patterns of subcutaneous fat in adolescence and adulthood: the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study. Int. J. Epidemiol. 25, 1162–1171.
Van Mechelen W, Twisk JW, Post GB, Snel J & Kemper HC (2000): Physical activity of young people: the Amsterdam Longitudinal Growth and Health Study. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 32, 1610–1616.
Visscher TLS, Kromhout D & Seidell JC (2002): Long-term and recent time trends in the prevalence of obesity among Dutch men and women. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 26, 218–224.
Visscher TLS, Rissanen A, Seidell JC, Heliövaara M, Knekt P, Reunanen A & Aromaa A (2004): Obesity and unhealthy life years in adult Finns. An empirical approach. Arch. Int. Med. 164, 1413–1420.
Visscher TLS & Seidell JC (2001): The public health impact of obesity. Annu. Rev. Public Health 22, 355–375.
Voedingscentrum (1998): Zo eet Nederland. Delft: Van Marken.
Westerterp KR (2001): Pattern and intensity of physical activity. Nature 410, 539.
Wolf AM (2002): Economic outcomes of the obese patient. Obes. Res. 10 (Suppl 1), S58–S62.
Wolf AM & Colditz GA (1998): Current estimates of the economic cost of obesity in the United States. Obes. Res. 6, 97–106.
World Health Organisation (WHO) (1997): Obesity — Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic, Report of a WHO Consulation on Obesity. Geneva: WHO.
World Health Organisation/UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (WHO/FAO) (2002): Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases: Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation. Geneva: WHO/FAO.
Acknowledgements
This study is funded by the Netherlands Heart Foundation (No: 2000Z002).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Guarantors: SPJ Kremers, TLS Visscher and D Kromhout.
Contributors: SPJK and TLSV were the main authors of the manuscript and assisted in the design of each of the studies presented in the manuscript. JB, MJMCAP, EGS, AJS, JCS, MAVB and WVM are supervisors of the separate studies within NHF-NRG and assisted in writing. HCGK, FJK, WHMS and DK are members of the programme committee and assisted in writing of the manuscript. DK is the principal investigator of the project.
Appendix A: Organisational structure of the NHF-NRG project
Appendix A: Organisational structure of the NHF-NRG project
Programme Committee
D Kromhout, (Principal Investigator), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven
HCG Kemper, EMGO Institute, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam
WHM Saris, Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University
FJ Kok, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University
Postdocs
TLS Visscher, Institute for Health Sciences, Free University, Amsterdam/Centre for Prevention and Health Care Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven/Knowledge Centre Overweight, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam/Prevention centre Overweight, Zwolle
SPJ Kremers, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Maastricht University
Studies within NHF-NRG
Study 1. ACJ NooyensFootnote 1,Footnote 2, PhD student. Senior researchers: TLS Visscher, AJ Schuit2, W van MechelenFootnote 3,Footnote 4, JC Seidell2,4
Study 2. GJ De BruijnFootnote 5, PhD student. Senior researchers: SPJ Kremers, W van Mechelen, J Brug5,Footnote 6
Study 3. AS Singh3, PhD student. Senior researchers: MJM Chin A Paw3, J Brug, W van Mechelen
Study 4. L KwakFootnote 7, PhD student. Senior researchers: MA van Baak7, SPJ Kremers, J Brug
Study 5. AM WerkmanFootnote 8, PhD student. Senior researchers: EG Schouten8, AJ Schuit
Advisory board
L Vaandrager, Dutch Centre Workplace Health Promotion
B Breedveld, Netherlands Nutrition Centre
R Westerhof, Royal Association of Teachers of Physical Education
B Sorgdrager, Dutch Association of Occupational Medicine
J Joosten, ‘Pensioen in Zicht’, Future Retirement Courses, Odyssee Group
G op het Veld, Netherlands Olympic Committee/Netherlands Sport Confederation (NOC/NSF)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kremers, S., Visscher, T., Brug, J. et al. Netherlands Research programme weight Gain prevention (NHF-NRG): rationale, objectives and strategies. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 498–507 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602100
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602100
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the overall effects of school-based obesity prevention interventions and effect differences by intervention components
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2019)
-
Understanding determinants of nutrition, physical activity and quality of life among older adults: the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life (WELL) study
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (2012)
-
Effect of an individually tailored one-year energy balance programme on body weight, body composition and lifestyle in recent retirees: a cluster randomised controlled trial
BMC Public Health (2010)
-
De invloed van het kinderdagverblijf op voeding en beweging
Jeugd en Co Kennis (2010)
-
Physical Activity for an Aging Population
Public Health Reviews (2010)