Obesity
Conditions
Brief summary
The obesity epidemic has spared no age group, including our youngest children. My and others' formative research shows that ethnically-diverse, low-income parents of young children are enthusiastic about learning general parenting skills, such as discipline strategies, but less interested in nutrition and physical activity. To capitalize on this enthusiasm, I will create and test an intervention that embeds strategies to improve child weight-related behaviors within a general skills parenting program. The overall goal of this study is to assess Parents and Tots Together (PTT), a family-based intervention to prevent obesity among children age 2 through 5 years. To achieve this goal, my colleagues and I will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) among ethnically diverse, primarily low-income families. Our specific aims are to: 1. Determine the extent to which the intervention, compared with a control condition, results in a smaller age-associated increase in body mass index (BMI) among children after a 3- month intervention and a 9-month follow-up period (primary outcome). 2. Determine the extent to which the intervention, compared with a control condition, results in: 1. Improved parent general parenting behaviors, i.e., increased use of positive discipline strategies. 2. Improved parent feeding practices, i.e., increased responsiveness to child satiety cues. 3. Improved child weight-related behaviors, i.e., increased sleep duration and physical activity, and reduced sugar-sweetened beverage intake and television/video viewing.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALParents and Tots Together Program
Group-based parenting program, 9 sessions offered weekly
BEHAVIORALControl
Minimal attention control- 9 weekly mailed information on general child development
Sponsors
American Heart Association
Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)
Johns Hopkins University
University of Guelph
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* parents who have a child aged 2-5 years * respond to interviews and questionnaires in English or Spanish
Exclusion criteria
* any families who plan to move during the study period * children or parents with severe health conditions that would prohibit them from participating in study activities
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in body mass index (BMI), adjusted for age and gender | baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in parent general parenting behaviors, i.e., use of positive discipline strategies. | baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up |
| Change in child weight-related behaviors, i.e., sleep duration and physical activity, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake and television/video viewing. | baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up |
| Change in parental feeding behaviors, i.e., controlling feeding practices | baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed