DAGIS

DAGIS – Increased Health and Wellbeing in Early Education and School Children

The DAGIS project focuses on socioeconomic differences in children’s energy balance-related behaviours (EBRB) and stress regulation and how they are influenced by factors in early education, at school and at home. A large cross-sectional survey of preschool children was conducted in 2015-2016 followed by a 5-month intervention to EBRBs and stress regulation in preschool children in 2017-2018. Participants will be followed up in 2023-2024.

DAGIS is a consortium study focusing on health and wellbeing in early education and school children in Finland. The DAGIS project is especially interested in following EBRBs (energy balance-related behaviours), including fruit and vegetable intake, intake of sugar-sweetened (everyday) foods and drinks, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, screen time, and stress regulation and investigating how they are associated with socioeconomic status. The DAGIS project has investigated the preschool as a setting for health promotion to improve EBRBs and decrease socioeconomic differences among children for these behaviours.

The DAGIS project started in 2014. A needs assessment, including a cross-sectional survey of over 800 children and parents across eight municipalities in Finland, was carried out in 2015-2016 (responsible researcher Eva Roos). The DAGIS survey study collected data on energy balance-related behaviours (EBRBs: sedentary and dietary behaviours, physical activity, sleep habits) and stress regulation in Finnish 3-6-year-old preschool children, alongside data on home and preschool environment. Survey findings were used to design an intervention program, which was carried out in 2017-2018 as a randomised controlled trial in preschools across two Finnish municipalities: Salo and Riihimäki (responsible researcher Carola Ray). The intervention aimed to improve children’s EBRBs and self-regulation skills and to decrease socioeconomic differences in EBRBs

Data collection for the DAGIS project continues in 2023. Participants in the DAGIS survey study in 2015-2016 will be followed up to investigate the relationship between circadian rhythms, eating, sleeping and adiposity among the now 11-14-year-old adolescents (responsible researcher Eva Roos). The relationship between early childhood diet and allergies and asthma will also be investigated in the same study.

The participants in the DAGIS intervention (2017–2018) were followed up in the autumn of 2023 and spring of 2024. All primary schools in the Salo municipality took part in the follow-up study DAGIS Salo (principal investigator Carola Ray). The aim of the DAGIS Salo follow-up study is to identify past and present environmental and individual factors related to lifestyle, well-being, weight, and learning among schoolchildren.

The DAGIS consortium continues to report findings and publish results via scientific articles. The consortium also includes research groups at University of Helsinki, led by Maijaliisa Erkkola and University of Eastern Finland, led by Nina Sajaniemi.

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Lead Scientist

Eva Roos, Professor, Consortium Leader

Senior Scientists 

Carola Ray, Adjunct Professor, PhD, PI (DAGIS intervention and DAGIS Salo)
Reetta Lehto, Adjunct Professor, PhD, PI (DAGIS survey and DAGIS Next)

Scientist

Josefine Björkqvist, MSc, Project Leader

Doctoral Researchers

Anna Abdollahi
Nithya Serasinghe Vidanage, MSc

Staff

Emmi Tilli, MSc, Coordinator
Jenna Rahkola, MSc, Coordinator
Henna Launistola, MSc, Coordinator
Ossian Klingstedt, MSc, Coordinator

Visiting Scientists

Ilse Tillman, Doctoral Researcher
Essi Skaffari, Doctoral Researcher

Comparison of actigraphy-measured and parent-reported sleep in association with weight status among preschool children.
Abdollahi AM, Li X, Merikanto I, Leppänen MH, Vepsäläinen H, Lehto R, Ray C, Erkkola M, Roos E. Journal of Sleep Research. 2024.

Role of early childhood educators’ demographic characteristics and perceived work environment in implementation of a preschool health promotion intervention.
Gustafsson J, Ray C, Lehto E, Roos E, Lehto R. Archives of Public Health. 2023.

The role of parental congruence in pre-school children's screen time, moderated by parental education.
Burnett AJ, Ray C, Lehto R, Leppänen MH, Sajaniemi N, Erkkola M, Roos E. Acta Paediatrica. 2023.

Child temperament is associated with energy intake and its day-to-day variability among preschoolers –  Results from a cross-sectional DAGIS study.
Pajulahti R, Ray C, Korkalo L, Lehto R, Vepsäläinen H, Nissinen K, Roos E, Sajaniemi N, Salmela-Aro K, Erkkola M. Pediatric Obesity. 2023.

Associations between socioeconomic status, home food availability, parental role-modeling, and children’s fruit and vegetable consumption: a mediation analysis.
Serasinghe N, Vepsäläinen H, Lehto R, Abdollahi AM, Erkkola M, Roos E, Ray C. BMC Public Health. 2023.

Effects of the DAGIS randomized controlled trial on home environment and children’s food consumption according to the degree of implementation.
Lehto R, Vepsäläinen H, Lehtimäki A-V, Lehto E, Leppänen M-H, Skaffari E, Abdollahi AM, Roos E, Erkkola M, Ray C. BMC Public Health. 2022.

Early Childhood Education and Care Context and Cortisol from Saliva and Hair among 3–6-year-old Children.
Lehto R, Lehto E, Saha M, Moazami-Goodarzi A, Sääksjärvi K, Leppänen M, Vepsäläinen H, Nissinen K, Erkkola M, Sajaniemi N. Early Years. 2022.

Sosiaalisen ja fyysisen kotiympäristön yhteys päiväkoti-ikäisten lasten ruokatottumuksiin. [Associations between social and physical home environmental factors and dietary habits among preschool-aged children in Finland].
Paasio H, Ray C, Kokkonen J-M, Lehto R, Nissinen K, Skaffari E, Vepsäläinen H, Erkkola M, Roos E. Sosiaalilääketieteen aikakausilehti. 2022. 

Psychometric properties of the item-reduced version of the comprehensive general parenting questionnaire for caregivers of preschoolers in a Finnish context.
Ray C, van der Borgh-Sleddens E, Augusta de Oliveira Figueiredo R, Gubbels J, Bjelland M, Roos E. PLoS ONE. 2022.

Parental happiness associates with the co-occurrence of preschool-aged children’s healthy energy balance-related behaviors.
Engberg E, Ray C, Määttä S, Figueiredo R, Leppänen M, Kaukonen R, Koivusilta L, Korkalo L, Nissinen K, Vepsäläinen H, Sajaniemi N, Erkkola M, Roos E.
Journal of Happiness Studies. 2021.

Maijaliisa Erkkola, Adjunct professor, University of Helsinki, Finland

Nina Sajaniemi, Professor, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

Jessica Gubbels, Associate professor, Maastricht University, the Netherlands

Gisela Nyberg, äldre lektor, gymnastik och idrottshögskolan, Stockholm, Sweden

Eva Warensjö-Lemming, lektor, Uppsala universitet, Sweden

Alissa Burnett, PhD, Deakin University, Australia

Kaija Nissinen, Seinäjoen Ammattikorkeakoulu

Katri Sääksjärvi, PhD, Institute of Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland

Leena Koivusilta, Adjuct Professor, University of Turku, Finland

Samfundet Folkhälsan

Research Council of Finland

Juho Vainio Foundation

Life and Health Medical Fund (Medicinska Understödsföreningen Liv och Hälsa)

Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation

Suomen kulttuurirahasto (2022, 2023)

Yrjö Jahnssonin säätiö (2022, 2023)

Contact

    • Eva Roos

      Group Leader

    • Tel:
      +358 50 407 6382

    • Contact

    • Carola Ray

      Adjunct Professor, PhD, Project Leader

    • Tel:
      +358 50 370 5193

    • Contact

    • Reetta Lehto

      Post-Doc Researcher, Project Leader

    • Tel:
      044 488 3080

    • Contact

    • Josefine Björkqvist

      Post-Doc Researcher, Project Leader

    • Tel:
      044 488 3067

    • Contact

    • Henna Launistola

      Coordinator

    • Jenna Rahkola

      Coordinator

    • Nithya Serasinghe Vidanage

      Doctoral Researcher

    • Emmi Tilli

      Coordinator, MSc

    • Contact

    • Anna Abdollahi

      Doctoral Researcher