Table 1.

How can we better prevent childhood obesity according to the different steps in the Intervention Mapping (IM) protocol [12•]?

IM step [12•]	The evidence	How can we better prevent childhood obesity?
Needs assessment	Childhood obesity is increasing. There are suggestions for downward trends.	Study long-term trends, severe categories and other measures than BMI.
Analysis of the health problem	Childhood obesity is associated with impaired health.	Study health consequences in the non-obese as well, do not focus on BMI alone and include non-medical consequences including stigmatisation.
Analysis of health-related behaviours	Multiple behaviours play a role in determining energy balance, and they differ across target groups.	Include patterns or clusters of behaviours in the analysis of behaviour.
Analysis of determinants of behaviours	Both personal and environmental determinants play a role.	Study determinants of patterns or clusters of behaviours, and study the interaction between personal and environmental determinants in quantitative studies.
Analysis of programme elements	Many components play a role. Studying components often comes after showing the effectiveness.	Studying programme components is important, even after having started, in order to further improve the programme when sustained, and for others across the globe.
Analysis of opportunities for implementation and sustainability	Knowledge and expertise regarding opportunities come from different fields of expertise. Opportunities are important determinants for the long-term success of prevention targeting a large numbers of professionals and individuals.	Analysis of opportunities is of key importance for successful implementation. Involvement of the ‘real world’ practitioners in defining the research questions is a promising way forward.
Analysis of process and effectiveness	Effectiveness studies are more common than process evaluations. One explanation is that process evaluation often relies on qualitative research methodologies. The RCT is often deemed as the most important evaluation design.	Convince reviewers and editors regarding the importance of qualitative studies. Include quantitative analyses in the process evaluation. Learn more regarding alternatives to the perfect randomised controlled trial. Improve monitoring systems.