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Background The prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing worldwide. Obesity in children impacts on their health in both short‐ and long‐term. Obesity prevention strategies are poorly understood.

Objective To assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent obesity in childhood.

Search strategy Electronic databases were searched from January 1985 to October 1999.

Selection criteria Data from randomized control trials and non‐randomized trials with concurrent control group were included. A priori, studies with follow up of 1 year minimum were selected however, this was subsequently amended to include studies with a minimum follow up of three months.

Data collection & analysis Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality.

Main results Seven studies were included, three long‐term (>1 years) and four short‐term (>3 months and <1 years). The studies included …