Policy, System, and Environmental Strategies to Support Healthy Weight Practices During the First 1,000 Days: A Scoping Review

Project Title: Policy, System, and Environmental strategies to support healthy weight practices during the first 1,000 days: A scoping review Project Period: November 1, 2022 – May 31, 2023 The time from conception to 24 months of age (i.e., the first 1,000 days) is a critical period of development that establishes a child’s overall health and weight trajectory. Weight-related disparities present during the first 1,000 days and disproportionately affect children from families of low socioeconomic status, minoritized racial and ethnic groups, and rural areas. Intervening during this time could have significant impact for decreasing disparities. Previous reviews have identified some promising individual-level interventions to promote healthy weight in the first 1,000 days but achieving public health impact from these types of interventions is limited. Policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) interventions provide an opportunity to achieve public health impact and promote health equity. Yet, little is known about the use, evaluation, and impact of such interventions to support healthy weight practices during the first 1,000 days. Currently there are no reviews that summarize or characterize the application of PSE interventions during this critical period of development and intervention. he purpose of this scoping review is three-fold: 1) Characterize the?attributes, reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, sustainability, and methodological quality of PSE interventions to promote healthy weight through nutrition during the first 1,000 days of children’s lives; 2) Identify knowledge gaps regarding the application and effectiveness of PSE interventions to promote healthy weight through nutrition for groups experiencing weight-related health disparities; and 3) Identify opportunities for future implementation and research of PSE interventions to promote nutrition/health equity during the first 1,000 days of children’s lives.