Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
obesity prevention, girl scouts, physical activity, family meals, fruits and vegetables, health promotion
Brief summary
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention designed to prevent obesity by improving the environmental characteristics of Girl Scouts troop meetings.
Detailed description
Girls and parents affiliated with Girl Scouts Juniors programs completed a questionnaire prior to the beginning of an intervention program, and again after the program. Children responded to previously validated questionnaire items assessing demographics, parent-child connectedness, parent-child physical activity, screen time usage, family meal-time environment, consumption of fruits and vegetables, soda, and fast food. Parents completed a similar questionnaire, assessing demographics, parent-child connectedness, parent-child physical activity, family mealtime environment, parenting style and parenting practices. Children were also assessed on height and weight to characterize their risk for overweight status. Questionnaires and environmental observations were used to assess the effectiveness of an intervention designed to improve the family meal-time environment at home, as well as helping to assess the relationships between parental factors and family health-related behavior.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALScouting Nutrition and Activity Program
Intervention group will receive a curriculum based on social cognitive theory, wherein children will be taught skills in a supportive environment to improve their self efficacy and proxy efficacy toward eating healthful meals and being physically active with a parent. Troop leaders and parents will provide support, and help girls to create healthy opportunities in the home environment. Simultaneously, girls will be taught skills to improve the family mealtime environment, to bolster asking skills toward healthy behavior, to self-monitor healthy behavior, and to set goals for healthy behavior.
BEHAVIORALStandard-care attentional control
Control troops complete usual troop meeting activities. Control troops receive equal observation time, equal pretest and posttest assessment, and equal study scrutiny.
Sponsors
The Sunflower Foundation
Kansas State University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
8 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Girls had to be attending members of Girl Scouts in one of our included troops. * The troop needed to be a registered Girl Scouts Juniors troop, consisting of girls primarily in the 4th and 5th grades. * To be officially registered, the troop leaders were required to complete Girl Scout leader training and pass a criminal background check. * To be included, the troops also needed to meet at least twice per month, have meeting facilities capable of allowing physical activity and food preparation. * Also, troops needed to have initial agreement of leaders and parents for the troop to participate in a research study.
Exclusion criteria
* An inability to speak or read English. * Troops not primarily composed of Girl Scouts Juniors, not regularly meeting during the study period, or not having leader and parental consensus approval for troop participation.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Body mass index percentile ranking | 5 months |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Obesity-related behaviors | 5 months |
| Troop environmental encouragement and opportunities for healthful eating and physical activity | continuous |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed