LA Sprouts: The Impact of Gardening and Nutrition Education on Childhood Obesity in Latino Youth...
Pediatric ObesityThe 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.
Technology and Design Innovation for School Lunch
Childhood ObesityThis study will evaluate an innovative school lunch intervention that is designed to increase school meal participation and improve dietary intake among middle and high school students.
BMI Study for Children Ages 6-9 Years and Parents
Childhood ObesityThe purpose of this study is to test the Fitwits office tool and games with 6-9 year old children and their parents to: 1) assist parent-child dyad with correct BMI status identification and understanding; 2) address nutrition, portion size, and activity cues; and, 3) track BMI trajectory over 12-month period.
Healthy Growth Abbreviated Pilot Study
Childhood ObesityThis is a single-group feasibility pilot trial of a peer-based, social media intervention to prevent obesity in infants.
Technology Based Obesity Prevention Project (TeBOPP)
Obesity in ChildrenTechnology-Based Obesity Prevention Project (TeBOPP) is a bilingual (English/Spanish) family-based educational intervention that will use a novel videogame format to educate underserved inner city Latino children and adolescent patients and their parents about healthy diet and exercise. To the best of our knowledge this is the first family focused obesity prevention educational intervention using a gaming scenario where both parents and children/teens (8-15 years) participate simultaneously. The goals are to improve parent-child (teen) knowledge regarding healthy food habits and create a change in attitude towards healthy eating and exercise. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that game-based avatars (i.e., a graphical representation of an individual within a virtual space) can create change in knowledge and attitude towards healthy eating and exercise.
Grow2Gether Pilot Study
Childhood ObesityThis is a randomized controlled pilot trial of a peer-based, social media intervention to prevent obesity in infants.
Anticipatory Guidance to Prevent Childhood Obesity
Childhood ObesityThe purpose of this pilot project is to test anticipatory guidance, which is information given to families during a well child visit to prevent obesity during childhood. The objectives were to compare two styles of anticipatory guidance during the first year of life, maternal focused and infant focused, versus usual care and determine which style, if any, showed the most ideal infant feeding behaviors at age 1 year and to see if there were any differences in infant weight for height at one year of age. The investigators hypothesized that mothers who received the maternal focused anticipatory guidance (which gave information on eating family meals, not having tv on during meals, and maternal nutrition) would actually have the best infant feeding behaviors and weight for height of infants at one year.
A Nutrition and Parenting Program for Fathers and Their Pre-school Age Children
Pediatric ObesityThis pilot study evaluates the feasibility and impact of a father-focused childhood obesity prevention program on paternal food-related parenting practices, mealtime behaviors and father/child nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Half of participants (low-income father and child dyads) will receive an intervention immediately while the other half of participants will serve as a wait-list control group and receive the intervention at a later date.
Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (TX CORD) Project -Primary Prevention Study
Pediatric ObesityA systems approach emphasizes the linkage between individual behavior change strategies and social and physical environmental changes, which act synergistically to facilitate (or inhibit) healthy eating and active living. We hypothesize that among low income, ethnically diverse overweight and obese children, aged 2-12 years, a systems approach to child obesity will reduce BMI compared to primary prevention alone.
Supervised Exercise-training in Children With Insulin Resistance or Healthy Metabolic Profile
Metabolism DisorderInsulin Sensitivity2 moreDespite exercise training decrease blood fasting glycemia in 'average' terms, there is a wide interindividual variability after exercise training explored mainly in adults but not in children. Thus, is yet unknown what baseline health status as well as the influence of what health variable may produce more/less non-responder (NR) prevalence (i.e., percentage of subjects who experienced a non-change/worsened response after training in some metabolic outcomes) after exercise training in school children.