2021 journal article
Twelve-Month Efficacy of an Obesity Prevention Program Targeting Hispanic Families With Preschoolers From Low-Income Backgrounds
JOURNAL OF NUTRITION EDUCATION AND BEHAVIOR, 53(8), 677–690.
{"Label"=>"OBJECTIVE"} Assess effects of an obesity prevention program promoting eating self-regulation and healthy preferences in Hispanic preschool children. {"Label"=>"DESIGN"} Randomized controlled trial with pretest, posttest, 6- and 12-month assessments. Fourteen waves, each lasting 7 weeks. {"Label"=>"SETTING"} Families recruited from Head Start across 2 sites. {"Label"=>"PARTICIPANTS"} Two hundred fifty-five families randomized into prevention (n = 136) or control (n = 119). {"Label"=>"INTERVENTION"} Prevention received curriculum; control received no curriculum. {"Label"=>"MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)"} Feeding knowledge/practices/styles (parent); body mass index percentile, eating self-regulation, trying new foods, and fruit/vegetable consumption (child). {"Label"=>"ANALYSIS"} Multilevel analyses for nested data (time points within families; families within waves) and multinomial regression. {"Label"=>"RESULTS"} Program increased mothers' repeated presentation of new foods (P < 0.05), measured portion sizes (P < 0.05), child involvement in food preparation (P < 0.001), feeding responsiveness (P < 0.001), knowledge of best feeding practices (P < 0.001), and feeding efficacy (P < 0.05); reduced feeding misconceptions (P < 0.01) and uninvolved feeding (P < 0.01). Effects on child eating behavior were minimal. At 12 months, children in the prevention group were less likely to have overweight (P < 0.05) or obesity (P < 0.05). {"Label"=>"CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS"} Program effects emphasize the importance of feeding approaches in reducing childhood obesity.