Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
pediatrics, media, MUPS
Brief summary
Childhood obesity is an epidemic and increasing. There are very few effective treatments for obesity in children. Recent studies have shown an association between obesity and sedentary behaviors such as television, video viewing and playing video games ('screen time') in preschool aged children. A school based intervention to reduce screen time in older children has been effective in preventing obesity. The reduction of screen time may lead to the prevention of obesity and its complications in preschool children.
Detailed description
There have been no trials examining an intervention to decrease screen time in preschool children in the physician office setting. This setting is appealing for interventions directed to preschool children because of accessibility. In addition, other public health interventions implemented in a physician office setting, such as home safety advice, have been effective. The proposed study design will be a randomized controlled trial. The intervention group will receive the study intervention, which is a 15 minute session about the health impact of screen time in children and strategies to decrease screen time. The objective of this study is to determine if an office based intervention is effective in decreasing screen time (television, video viewing and playing video games) in preschool children.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALStrategies to decrease screen time in children
15 minute session about the health impact of screen time in children and strategies to decrease screen time (removing televisions from the child's bedroom, budgeting screen time, providing a contingency plan for time spent not watching TV, encouraging family meal time, and implementing a one week television turn off, where children are encouraged to spend one week without watching TV/videos). Activities for the child include reading a story about television viewing (The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV), and creating a list of non TV related activities to replace TV time. The intervention group will receive a CPS handout titled 'Promoting Good Television Habits' and a calendar with stickers for the television turn off. Educational session on good media use (information on television rating systems, internet safety, and limiting exposure to violent programming, and the CPS handout entitled 'Managing Media in the Home')
BEHAVIORALNon-Strategical Media Education
Educational session on good media use (information on television rating systems, internet safety, and limiting exposure to violent programming, and the CPS handout entitled 'Managing Media in the Home')
Sponsors
The Hospital for Sick Children
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
3 Years to 3 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* registered to attend a 3 year old well child visit
Exclusion criteria
* children with limitations in ambulation or cognitive delay will be excluded from the study.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Parent reported number of hours screen time on the previous weekday and previous weekend day | 6 and 12 months |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Number of meals in front of the TV | 6 and 12 months |
| Activity levels | 6 and 12 months |
| Anthropometric measures | 12 months |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed