Pediatric Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
Summer, Diet, Physical Activity, Sedentary behavior, Low-income
Brief summary
Convergent findings from several studies document that children, especially those who are already overweight or obese or from racial / ethnic minority groups, are at risk for accelerated weight gain during the summer months. Therefore, this project is comprised of three separate community-based interventions designed to increase access to healthy meals and physical activity opportunities to minimize excess summer weight gain in elementary school children from a diverse, low-income Rhode Island community. Specifically, we will complete a quasi-experimental study in which we will design and deliver a physical activity intervention in conjunction with the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) to 50 children living in a low-income, urban community. We anticipate that the addition of physical activity programming to the SFSP, a federal program funded by the USDA which reimburses states for serving lunch meals to children during the summer in communities where at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals, will increase both the acceptability and effectiveness of the SFSP and affect 1) physical activity levels, 2) sedentary behavior, and 3) diet quality. The primary outcome (change in BMI z-score) will be compared between the 50 kids enrolled in the active intervention and 50 children enrolled in the control condition, both recruited from the same community.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALIntervention
Physical activity programming in accordance with the SPARK - After School curriculum as well as engaging activities provided by local community partners. The intervention proceeded the SFSP lunch meal service, so that children received approximately three hours of physical activity programming daily.
Sponsors
Brown University
The Miriam Hospital
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Low-income (defined as qualifying for free or reduced-price meals as part of the National School Lunch Program) * Ages 6-12 years * Ability of child to speak, read and write English (for purposes of assessment and intervention) * Parent/guardian involvement * Agreement to study participation * Intent to participate in the SFSP in the upcoming summer
Exclusion criteria
* Medical condition that would interfere with participation in physical activity * Enrolled in a camp or other physical activity based summer program.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in BMI z-score over the summer | Three months (summer) | BMI was measured at the baseline visit (early June 2016) and three months later at the end of the summer (late August, 2016). Outcome of interest was change (BMIz at f/u - BMIz at baseline) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Activity | Cross-sectional measure taken for 7 days during the window of weeks 4-6 of the 8 week intervention | Activity was measured using a wrist-worn ActiGraph for 7-days. Outcome of interest was minutes of bout-related moderate to vigorous physical activity |
| Sedentary Behavior | Cross-sectional measure taken for 7 days during the window of weeks 4-6 of the 8 week intervention | Activity was measured using a wrist-worn ActiGraph for 7-days. Outcome of interest was percent of total wear time spent sedentary (\<100 counts/minute) |
| Energy intake | Cross-sectional measure taken for 7 days during the window of weeks 4-6 of the 8 week intervention | Reported calorie intake from three, non-consecutive 24-hour diet recalls |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed