Environmental Influences on Early Childhood Obesity
Childhood ObesityFew treatments have been developed for young children with obesity from diverse backgrounds. The present study will develop and test an intervention designed to improve preschool obesity in Latino children. The intervention will focus on improving eating, activity, and sleep behaviors and the home environment for improved weight status.
Next Steps: a Community-led Solution to Address Childhood Obesity
ObesityThe purpose of Next Steps pilot intervention is to develop and test a new program designed to help low-income multiethnic families with overweight or obese children achieve long-term maintenance of healthful behaviors following completion of Hennepin County Medical Center's (HCMC) 16-week intensive obesity management course (Taking Steps Together (TST)).
Brief Physical Activity Program to Increase Physical Fitness in Elementary School Children
Childhood ObesityThe investigators hypothesized that the addition of 6 minutes of exercise during the school day would increase physical fitness in elementary school students as demonstrated by longer distances run in 2 minutes and a decrease in heart rate at the end of the exercise.
Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Food Insecurity
Food InsecurityObesity3 moreFood insecurity is prevalent in the United States. Defined as unstable and inadequate access to food, food insecurity disproportionately affects low-income households, those with children and those with a Black or Hispanic head of household. Moreover, food insecurity is associated with childhood obesity, a relationship that is not well understood from a behavioral or biological perspective. This randomized controlled trial will take advantage of the natural onset of summertime food insecurity among school-age children, ages 8-12 years, to examine the biobehavioral mechanisms of food insecurity including diet quality, biomarkers of Metabolic Syndrome, inflammation, and stress, weight status, and measures of child mental health.
Buen Provecho!: A Virtual Family-Based Intervention to Promote Health
Health BehaviorDiet2 moreThe purpose of this pilot study is to compare the effectiveness of an expanded virtual educational program at modifying knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors when compared to traditional in-office counseling for guardians of children who are obese or overweight.
Effects of Volleyball Intervention on Health-related Fitness in Primary School Students
Physical InactivityAdolescent Obesity4 moreThe goal of this study is to find out if doing a 16-week volleyball program integrated in physical education classes at school can make primary school students stronger, faster, and have better endurance. The study also wants to see whether the program can lead to changes in the students' body weight, body fat, and muscle mass.
Food for Thought: Virtual Home-Based Family Interventions to Improve Nutrition Behaviors
BehaviorHealth2 moreA randomized controlled trial enrolling 123 parent-infant dyads (English or Spanish speaking) comparing a virtual video Teaching Kitchen Outreach Program (TKO) with weekly grocery delivery (comparator group), to Healthier Families, COVID Edition (intervention group) which includes TKO plus a 12-week virtual health coaching intervention aimed at supporting family goal setting and behavior change including topics such as nutrition and physical activity.
Prenatal Probiotic Intervention
Childhood ObesityMaternal Obesity During Childbirth2 moreThis study will assess the feasibility of a randomized control trial in which the effects of probiotic supplementation throughout pregnancy on maternal insulin sensitivity and inflammation, as well offspring gene expression and body composition are examined.
Healthy Caregivers-Healthy Children (HC2) Phase II
Pediatric ObesityObesityOne in four U.S. children under the age of 5 years old are either overweight or obese with ethnic-minority children being disproportionately affected. Low-income preschool children, many from ethnic minority backgrounds, receive childcare in federal/state subsidized centers where daily meals are provided. Nationally, the Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) organization is responsible for rating the quality of childcare centers. However, nutrition and physical activity policy standards have not been incorporated into QRIS childcare center policies. Therefore, the goal of this project is to address the 2014 AFRI program area priority of Childhood Obesity Prevention by building on the phase I "Healthy Caregivers, Healthy Children (HC2)" NRI/AFRI funded project (2010-2013), in partnership with the Miami Dade County Cooperative Extension team, to evaluate the program via randomized-controlled trial outcomes, and deliver an evidence-based effective childcare center-based program/toolkit. This project (phase II) will expand HC2 Phase I findings by transferring the evidence-based HC2 program/toolkit to QRIS childcare centers via a train-the-trainers (TTT) model. The following specific aims are proposed; (1) to evaluate the TTT model of delivery for the evidence-based HC2 toolkit's effectiveness versus an attention control on parent and teacher adoption of healthy lifestyle role modeling behaviors, and policy integration; (2) to evaluate the impact of a TTT delivery model versus an attention control on child body composition and short- and long-term behavioral health outcomes, and (3) to disseminate the HC2 early childhood obesity prevention toolkit TTT model within the QRIS early childhood network at the Miami Dade County-level.
Child Friendly Menu Labelling and Food Choices
Childhood ObesityChildhood obesity is a major problem in Canada. Children are eating larger portions and have easier access to high-fat, high-sugar foods and drinks. Menu labelling is a promising tool to teach families about healthier choices. The investigators will study the impact of combining child-friendly superhero food labels, fun food names, and a traffic light system on the food choices of children and their parents at SickKids. The investigators will use the hospital inpatient food ordering system (Meal Train) and look at food orders and eating patterns before and after introduction of the revised Meal Train menu. Only the design format of the menu was changed and all menu items remained unchanged. The investigators will also survey the families on their thoughts about the menu. This study will help doctors and dietitians develop strategies to deliver nutrition education to families.