Childhood Obesity Prevention
Conditions
Keywords
Summer Camp, Child overweight / obesity, Diet, Physical Activity
Brief summary
This pilot randomized controlled trial was designed to assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of randomizing children, ages 6-12 years from two low-income communities in Rhode Island, to attend a summer day camp (CAMP) or to experience summer as usual (SAU). Children randomized to CAMP attended a Boys and Girls Club summer day camp for 8-weeks in summer 2017 or 2018. As part of the consent process, children randomized to SAU agreed to experience an unstructured summer (i.e. not enroll in more than one week of summer camp, summer school or other structured summer programming). Primary feasibility outcomes included retention, engagement and completion of midsummer measures. Secondary outcomes, change in BMIz (a proxy for excess summer weight gain), physical activity engagement, sedentary behavior, and diet (energy intake and diet quality), were collected by blinded research staff at the end of the school year, midsummer and the end of the summer.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBoys and Girls Club summer day camp
Daily camp activities included sports, games, obstacle courses, swimming and boating, summer learning and arts and crafts. Lunch was served daily via the USDA's Summer Food Service Program.
Sponsors
Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute
The Miriam Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school * Speak English (for purposes of camp participation) * Agree, along with their parent(s), to randomization.
Exclusion criteria
* A medical condition that interferes with participation in physical activity * Enrollment in summer programming (camp, summer school, etc) for more than one week
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Retention | Baseline to end of summer; 8 weeks | Number of participants who completed both baseline and end of summer assessments |
| Camp Attendance | 8 weeks | Number of days children attended the Boys and Girls Club Camp |
| Participation in Summer Activities | 8 weeks | Number of days children attended camp, summer school, or day care over the summer |
| Completion of study measures | Baseline (May / June); Midsummer (mid-July) | Number of participants who completed three 24-hour diet recalls and/or 7-days of actigraphy at baseline and mid-summer assessment visits |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Excess summer weight gain | Baseline to end of summer; 8 weeks | Change in BMIz |
| Diet Quality | 4-6 weeks (from baseline (end of May / beginning of June) to mid-summer (mid-July)) | Change in Diet Quality as measured by the HEI-2015 from three non-consecutive 24-hour diet recalls |
| Physical Activity | 4-6 weeks (from baseline (end of May / beginning of June) to mid-summer (mid-July)) | Change in minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as measured by ActiGraph accelerometer |
| Sedentary Behavior | 4-6 weeks (from baseline (end of May / beginning of June) to mid-summer (mid-July)) | Change in percent time spent sedentary as measured by ActiGraph accelerometer |
| Energy Intake | 4-6 weeks (from baseline (end of May / beginning of June) to mid-summer (mid-July)) | Change in total energy intake as measured from 3 non-consecutive 24-hour diet recalls |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed