Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
Obesity prevention, Health promotion, School based curriculum
Brief summary
The proposed project takes an innovative approach to childhood obesity prevention, for which there currently no evidence-based programs, and for which results of current trials have produced mainly short-term or disappointing effects. The aim of this project is to adapt and revise parts of two nationally recognized programs for drug prevention for use with children in grades 4-6 with the express purpose of obesity prevention. The current study will attempt to promote emotion regulation, neuro-cognitive function, and social competence in order to prevent obesity. A total of 24 elementary schools from two of the largest districts in Orange County will be randomly assigned to either the obesity prevention program or control group (N=1587) 4th grade students and their parents). A cohort of students will be followed from the 4th through 6th grades. Intervention students will be administered the Pathways obesity prevention program by trained teachers. The population is ethnically diverse (36% white, 57% Hispanic, 6%Asian; 48% on free/reduced lunch programs). Self-report measures, BMI, and waist circumference will be administered at the beginning of 4th grade, and at end of 4th , 5th , and 6th grade. Teacher, administrative, and parent surveys will be administered on the same schedule to measure school environment. Program implementation will be measured by teacher self-report and research staff observations. Data will be analyzed with statistical approaches that capture effects of school and classroom, test the theoretical model of change, and evaluate developmental trends in mediators and outcomes across the three grades. Findings should be generalizable to most elementary schools, and will be used to develop evidence-based program standards for childhood obesity prevention.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPathways
3-year, 30 lesson, School-based universal health promotion curriculum with parent component.
Sponsors
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
University of Southern California
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 4th grade students at participating schools
Exclusion criteria
* None
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Food Intake | 9 month posttest, 21 month follow-up, 33 month follow-up |
| Physical Activity | baseline, 9 month posttest, 21 month posttest, 33 month posttest |
| Body Mass Index | baseline, 9 month posttest, 21 month posttest, 33 month posttest |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Executive Cognitive Function | baseline, 9 month posttest, 21 month posttest, 33 month posttest |
| Stress | baseline, 9 month posttest, 21 month posttest, 33 month posttest |
| Attitudes toward healthy eating and physical activity | baseline, 9 month posttest, 21 month posttest, 33 month posttest |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed