Overweight
Conditions
Keywords
pediatric, obesity, African American, adolescents, intervention, home-based, community-based
Brief summary
The purpose of Challenge! is to determine if adolescents enrolled in a health promotion/ obesity prevention program will have a healthier BMI-for-age z-score and body composition (body fat %), will consume a healthier diet, and engage in higher levels of physical activity compared to those that did not receive the intervention over time.
Detailed description
Pediatric overweight is a major public health problem in the US, with the prevalence of overweight among children of all ages increasing dramatically over the past several decades. Interventions aimed at reducing the increased weight gain during adolescence have produced mixed results. Challenge! is a randomized controlled trial for health promotion/ obesity prevention targeting low-income, urban, African American adolescents. Healthy adolescents were recruited from an urban medical center and from local middle schools. Weight status was not part of the inclusion criteria. The intervention was home- and community-based and delivered one-on-one to each adolescent by a college-age personal trainer. The intervention focused on goal-setting, consuming a healthy diet (increase fruits, vegetables, and water, and decrease high-fat snack and convenience foods), and increasing physical activity. We hypothesized that the teens enrolled in the intervention would have a healthier BMI-for-age z-score and a healthier body composition (body fat %) compared to those that did not receive the intervention over time. Additionally, we hypothesized that those enrolled in the intervention would consume healthier diets and have higher levels of physical activity compared to those that did not receive the intervention over time.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALChallenge!
Each adolescent in the intervention group received 12 lessons administered in adolescent's home or community by a personal trainer (a college-aged mentor). The lessons focused on behavior change relating to diet and physical activity and was based on social cognitive theory. At the end of each lesson the adolescent set a behavior change goal for themselves. The adolescents were taught how to track their goals and they discussed thir ability/inability to meet their goals at each meeting with their personal trainer.
Sponsors
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Thomas Wilson Sanitarium for Children of Baltimore City
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
University of Massachusetts, Worcester
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
11 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Ages 11-16, willing to participate in a randomized controlled trial for health promotion
Exclusion criteria
* Outside of age range
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| BMI-for-age z-score and percentiles (measured weight and height, self-reported gender and date of birth)and Body composition (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) | 2 years |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Physical Activity (accelerometry and self-report) Diet (Food frequency questionnaire) | 2 years |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed