This study is a family-centered, community-based intervention to prevent and treat childhood obesity among 3-5 year old children from undeserved communities. Half of participants will receive a healthy lifestyle intervention and half of participants will receive a school-readiness intervention.
The complex multi-level determinants of childhood obesity necessitate a personalized approach. One of the main challenges to effective behavior change interventions is the complexity of the systems in which these behaviors are situated. Namely, health behaviors are the result of the confluence of macro-level influences (e.g., the built environment, family, etc.) and micro-level influences (e.g., stress). Furthermore, it is imperative that attempts to support healthy childhood growth consider the foundational contribution of a person's culture to their health behaviors, especially as children from traditionally underserved minorities are often hardest hit by obesity. This program will test a 15 week behavioral intervention followed by 3 months of coaching calls that uses principles from the learning sciences and health behavior change to help shape healthy behaviors in the context of family. The follow-up of the study will last 1 year. The content of the intervention will focus on health behavior change, including teaching goal-setting and self monitoring skills, as well as parenting strategies. The primary outcome of interest will be early childhood BMI trajectory over 1 year. Additional measures will include survey data to measure parent and child health behaviors (e.g., diet, physical activity, sleep, media use) that are associated with obesity.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
117
Staged intensity behavioral intervention focusing on healthy lifestyles in the context of family.
School Readiness Intervention focusing on literacy and parent skills
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Change in Child Body Mass Index
child BMI trajectory across 12 months; BMI differences over time are estimates from the longitudinal mixed-effects regression model
Time frame: Baseline, 4 months, 7 months, 1 year
Child Diet: Soda
Parent-reported survey data; Child diet: Soda was measured by a single survey item used in the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study with higher values representing higher frequency of consumption per day. (citation: Ziegler P, Briefel R, Clusen N, et al. Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS): Development of the FITS survey in comparison to other dietary survey methods. J Am Diet Assoc 2006;106:S12-S27.)
Time frame: 4 months
Child Physical Activity
Parent-reported survey data
Time frame: 4 months
Parent BMI
Time frame: 4 months
Parent Diet Practices
Self-reported survey data; Parent diet practices were measured by using a summed score of a 4-item questionnaire of eating behaviors, including overeating, unplanned eating, making poor food choices, and emotional eating. Higher scores represent more unhealthy parent dieting practices. Items ranged on a scale from 0-5 and were summed to create the scale which ranged from 0-20.
Time frame: 4 months
Parenting Practices: Engagement
Self-reported survey data; Parenting practices around child physical activity were measured by the Preschooler Physical Activity Parenting Practices (PPAPP) scale which has an engagement subscale. Parenting practices: Engagement was a 15 item subscale of the PPAPP survey with higher scores representing higher parent engagement practices. Items ranged on a scale from 1-5 and were summed to create the subscale which ranged from 15-75.
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Time frame: 4 months