title: The IDEFICS cohort: design, characteristics and participation in the baseline survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The European IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants) study was set up to determine the aetiology of overweight, obesity and related disorders in children, and to develop and evaluate a tailored primary prevention programme.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper focuses on the aetiological element of the multicentre study, the measures and examinations, sociodemographic characteristics of the study sample and proportions of participation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study with an embedded intervention study that started with a baseline survey in eight countries in 2007-2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  Baseline participants of the prospective cohort study were 16,224 children aged 2-9 years. Parents reported sociodemographic, behavioural, medical, nutritional and other lifestyle data for their children and families. Examinations of children included anthropometry, blood pressure, fitness, accelerometry, DNA from saliva and physiological markers in blood and urine. The built environment, sensory taste perception and other mechanisms of children's food choices and consumer behaviour were studied in subgroups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between 1507 and 2567, children with a mean age of 6.0 years and an even sex distribution were recruited from each country. Of them, 82% lived in two-parent families. The distribution of standardised income levels differed by study sample, with low-income groups being strongly represented in Cyprus, Italy and Germany. At least one 24-h dietary recall was obtained for two-thirds of the children. Blood pressure and anthropometry were assessed in more than 90%. A 3-day accelerometry was performed in 46%, motor fitness was assessed in 41%, cardiorespiratory fitness in 35% and ∼11% participated in taste perception tests. The proportion of children donating venous blood, urine and saliva was 57, 86 and 88%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The IDEFICS cohort provides valuable data to investigate the interplay of social, environmental, genetic, physiological and behavioural factors in the development of major diet- and lifestyle-related disorders affecting children at present.
authors.affiliation: Bremen Institute for Prevention Research and Social Medicine, University Bremen, Germany. ahrens@bips.uni-bremen.de
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ahrens
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bammann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Buchecker
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Henauw
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iacoviello
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hebestreit
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Krogh
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lissner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mårild
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Molnár
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Y P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Pitsiladis
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reisch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tornaritis
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Veidebaum
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pigeot
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003256:Community Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003535:Cyprus / Q000453:epidemiology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011322:Primary Prevention; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior