Building Healthy Dietary Beginnings for All Families
Healthy eating during the first 1,000 days of life, from before pregnancy until a child’s second birthday, is essential for good health later in life. The PRISTA 2.0 project aims to help families in the Netherlands build healthy eating habits. It focuses on practical, inclusive, and accessible support for parents and children, with special attention to families from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.
A healthy diet in early life limits risk on gestational diabetes, postpartum weight retention and the development of allergies and obesity in the child. Many families face challenges in maintaining a healthy diet in the first 1,000 days. For example, less than one in three adults consume enough nuts, fruit, vegetables and fish, and parents often find it difficult to make healthy choices with busy schedules. For example, 20% of 6 month old’s consume sweetened beverages daily. New forms of support are needed that fit everyday family life and are accessible to everyone, regardless of background or education level.
PRISTA 2.0 aims to gain extensive input to develop a preventive program providing dietary support. It builds on earlier work with the PRISTA app, which provided personalized nutrition advice for pregnant and postpartum women. The new version broadens the focus to the whole household, including partners and children and explores support beyond the app alone. Through surveys, interviews, and co-creation sessions, parents, healthcare professionals, and childcare providers will contribute to designingsolutions that truly meet family needs.
The project will deliver an inclusive, family-oriented intervention design that is (partly) app-based and promotes healthy eating habits in the first 1,000 days of life. This will lay the foundation for the further development and implementation of PRISTA 2.0, helping all families have the best possible start.
