MARCO (HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF)

Start date: 10 July 2023

End date: 9 October 2024

Project summary

The high prevalence of childhood obesity in various parts of the world indicates a worrying future health scenario, making prevention a high priority. This prevention should focus on diet and physical activity. In terms of nutrition, the onset of establishing dietary habits and preferences occurs in childhood, and this prevention and treatment needs to be individualised. In this context, precision nutrition offers a new paradigm for health, where the focus is on prevention and treatment strategies based on the unique characteristics of an individual. Metabolomics (belonging to the omics group: transcriptomics, genomics and proteomics) is considered an important aspect of precision nutrition, which reflects more realistically the effect of food on health and disease. Therefore, the aim of this project is to identify the metabolomic profile in children aged 3-6 years, and through a longitudinal intervention, whether dietary behaviour and physical inactivity modify the metabolite profile that may lead to obesity. The data for this proposal will be derived from a multi-centre, parallel, randomised, controlled clinical trial to be conducted with a cohort of children, followed initially by one year of intervention, with the intention of 10 years in total. The intervention will be based on healthy eating and physical activity.

Metabolomic, anthropometric, dietary, socioeconomic, behavioural, metabolic, biochemical, biochemical and food environment variables will be collected. Studies similar to this one are not available in the literature and have the potential to increase knowledge on nutritional metabolomics, especially in early childhood, and serve as a database for other studies with this population. This may reduce childhood obesity, minimise nutritional and metabolic risks in childhood and reduce the economic, environmental and social impact of this disease.

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