Considering the immense challenge of preventing obesity, the time has come to reconceptualise the way we study the obesity development in childhood. The developmental cascade model offers a longitudinal framework to elucidate the way cumulative consequences and spreading effects of risk and protective factors, across and within biopsychosocial spheres and phases of development, can propel individuals towards obesity. In this article, we use a theory-driven model-building approach and a scoping review that included 310 published studies to propose a developmental cascade model of paediatric obesity. The proposed model provides a basis for testing hypothesised cascades with multiple intervening variables and complex longitudinal processes. Moreover, the model informs future research by resolving seemingly contradictory findings on pathways to obesity previously thought to be distinct (low self-esteem, consuming sugary foods, and poor sleep cause obesity) that are actually processes working together over time (low self-esteem causes consumption of sugary foods which disrupts sleep quality and contributes to obesity). The findings of such inquiries can aid in identifying the timing and specific targets of preventive interventions across and within developmental phases. The implications of such a cascade model of paediatric obesity for health psychology and developmental and prevention sciences are discussed.

考虑到预防肥胖的巨大挑战，是时候重新概念化我们研究儿童肥胖发展的方式了。发育级联模型提供了一个纵向框架，以阐明风险和保护因素在生物心理社会领域和发展阶段之间和内部的累积后果和传播效应如何推动个体走向肥胖。在本文中，我们使用理论驱动的模型构建方法和范围审查（其中包括 310 项已发表的研究）提出了儿童肥胖的发育级联模型。所提出的模型为测试具有多个干预变量和复杂纵向过程的假设级联提供了基础。此外，该模型通过解决以前被认为是不同的肥胖途径（低自尊、食用含糖食物和睡眠不足导致肥胖）看似矛盾的发现，为未来的研究提供信息，而这些发现实际上是随着时间的推移共同作用的过程（低自尊、食用含糖食物和睡眠不足导致肥胖）。导致食用含糖食物，从而破坏睡眠质量并导致肥胖）。此类调查的结果有助于确定发育阶段和发育阶段内预防性干预的时机和具体目标。讨论了这种儿童肥胖级联模型对健康心理学以及发育和预防科学的影响。