Pediatric Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
gardening, cooking, nutrition education, Hispanic Americans
Brief summary
The overall goal of this project is to conduct a randomized controlled 12-week after school, gardening, nutrition and cooking program (called LA Sprouts) to improve dietary intake and reduce obesity in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students (ages 8-12 years) in Los Angeles. Approximately 400 3rd - 5th grade students participating in the LA's Best after school program will participate. Four elementary schools in Los Angeles will be selected to participate in the study. Schools will be randomized by region to either receive the intervention (LA Sprouts; 2 schools, n=200 students) or serve as controls (received a delayed intervention program one school semester later; 2 schools, n=200 students). The LA Sprouts intervention will take place at the elementary schools, with gardens on campus specially designed and built for this project. The program will be held once a week for 12 weeks and will consist of a 45-minute gardening lesson, taught by Master Gardeners from the University of California Cooperative Extension (supervised by Nicole Gatto, MPH, PhD), and a 45-minute nutrition education and cooking lesson, taught by USC a Nutrition Educator (supervised by Jaimie Davis, PhD, RD). Measures of childhood obesity (i.e., body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentages), blood pressure, metabolic function (fasting blood glucose, insulin and lipids), dietary intake and related behaviors, and school performance will be measured before and after the implementation of the program in both intervention and control participants. Approximately 10 additional students of the same age will be asked to participate in a focus group to evaluate the questionnaire developed for this study. In addition, approximately 20 additonal students of the same age will be asked to participate in a test-retest session to validate the reliability of the questionnaire.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALLA Sprouts intervention
see arm 1 description
Sponsors
Loma Linda University
University of Texas at Austin
University of California, Los Angeles
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Annenberg Foundation
University of Southern California
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Normal, Overweight and Obese Children: Investigators will attempt to obtain a natural selection of normal weight children (age- & sex-specific BMI \< 85th percentile based on CDC BMI growth charts (40) and overweight and obese children (BMI ≥ 85th percentile). Based on preliminary data from these areas, investigators expect that at least 50% of the sample will be overweight or obese. There will not be an upper BMI limit. Gender & Age: Investigators will attempt to enroll equal numbers of female and male students in 3rd through 5th grades (8-12 years of age). Latino origin: This study will include all ethnicities, however the selected schools are \>90% Latino.
Exclusion criteria
* The following criteria are exclusionary: presently taking medication(s) or diagnosed with any disease that could influence dietary intake or body composition; previously diagnosed with any major illness since birth (e.g. chronic birth asphyxia, cancer, etc.); any physical, cognitive, or psychological disability that would prevent participation in the study. Participants testing positive for diabetes (as determined from the fasting blood draw) will be referred for treatment. (Note: subjects with pre-diabetes will be eligible for the study). Although participant data may be excluded based on the above
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| change in adiposity | baseline and 12 weeks | measured by BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percentages (via Tanita scale) |
| change in blood pressure | baseline and 12 weeks | — |
| change in metabolic function | baseline and 12 weeks | measured by fasting glucose, insulin and lipids |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| change in dietary intake | basline and 12 weeks | measured via screener, specifically fruits, vegetables, fiber |
| change in determinants of fruit and vegetable intake | basline and 12 weeks | measured via LA Sprouts questionnaire (developed for this study), ie knowledge, preferences, self-efficacy, motivation |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| change in school engagement | basline and 12 weeks | measured via LA Sprouts questionnaire (developed for this study) |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed