A mHealth intervention to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours from the start of life: The Health4Life trial

Research problem and specific questions: The promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviours needs to start early in life as once obesity is established it is difficult to treat.

The overall aim of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a mobile health intervention (Health4Life) to support parents to create healthy lifestyle behaviours from the start of their infant’s life, in order to prevent overweight and obesity.Data and method: Health4Life will utilize a type I hybrid implementation-effectiveness study design.

A cluster randomized controlled trial will be conducted in 44 child healthcare centers in Regions Halland and Jönköping (n = 620 parents with a 1-month-old infant).

All parents/infants will receive standard care; however, the intervention group will receive the 17-month Health4Life app.

Primary outcomes are: children´s dietary intake (mobile based), physical activity and sleep (accelerometry), and screen time (parental report).

Secondary outcomes include children´s BMI z-scores (measured at child healthcare), as well as motor skills and parenting practices (questionnaires).

The implementation outcomes that will be assessed (in the 22 child healthcare centers in the intervention group) are: acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, costs, sustainability, and reach. These will be measured quantitatively (questionnaires) and quantitatively (semi-structured interviews).

A cost-effectiveness analysis will determine if the implementation of Health4Life represents value for money when measured incrementally against usual practice.Societal relevance and utilization: Primary child healthcare’s mission is to promote healthy lifestyle habits to prevent poor health. The Health4Life app will support this mission through providing constant support for parents in their everyday lives.

As it is well established that overweight and obesity are associated with numerous diseases and disorders, coupled with the fact that it is well established that overweight and obesity tracks from childhood to adulthood, it is a public health priority to intervene early on.Plan for project realization: Within this application we are applying for funding for a PhD student (100%), a post-doc (50%), salary for the applicants, and project costs.

The highly competent research team, staff, and collaborators coupled with the carefully selected methodology make the proposed project highly feasible to conduct over the next 3-years.