Together We STRIDE (Strategizing Together Relevant Interventions for Diet and Exercise)
Condition: Obesity, Childhood
MeSH terms: Pediatric Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Obesity among Hispanic children in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington State is alarmingly
      high. This study proposes to implement a comprehensive, multi-level intervention among
      children, families, the schools, and the community to combat this problem. The two year
      intervention will be measured by examining changes in children's body mass index.
    

Detailed description: 
      Childhood obesity rates in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington State are alarming: 34% of
      youth are obese compared to the state average of 23%. A large proportion of those children
      are Hispanic; Hispanics represent 47% of the population in Yakima County and 67% of the
      population in the Lower Yakima Valley. In January 2013, the investigators study received a
      planning grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities to build
      and enhance community capacity and infrastructure on childhood obesity initiatives in the
      Lower Yakima Valley. This project began with the community as they expressed concern at the
      high incidence of obesity among Hispanic children in the Valley. In the ensuing two and a
      half years, the investigators and the community used community-based participatory research
      (CBPR) to 1) form a community advisory board (CAB); 2) build a Steering Committee; 3) conduct
      a comprehensive multi-level needs assessment; 4) develop and institute a pilot study; and 5)
      evaluate our activities. In response to RFA MD-15-010, the investigators and the community
      are now prepared to implement the intervention activities that were successful in our pilot
      study into a large-scale quasi-experimental intervention trial. The multi-level interventions
      will include activities at the individual level, family level, school level, and community
      level. Activities include distributing comic books to students about healthy eating and
      physical activity, a multi-generational level family intervention that teaches families about
      healthy eating and cooking skills as well as physical activity, a variety of school events to
      teach children about the food industry as well as encourage them to be physically activity at
      small intervals in the classroom, and community activities to foster the idea of the
      community being a healthy place for kids. The overall goal of this project is to continue to
      use a CBPR approach; in so doing, test the effectiveness of the comprehensive, multi-level
      intervention on reducing children's BMI z-scores, the primary endpoint. BMI z scores will be
      assessed by taking height and weight measures of the children at baseline, 12 months, and 24
      months. This study will recruit and enroll a total of 900 Hispanic children in grades 3rd to
      5th (ages 8-12 years) who attend the four elementary schools in the intervention community
      and the four elementary schools in the comparison community. Schools in both communities will
      be matched based on student standardized test scores, percent of students eligible to receive
      free or reduced-price lunch, and school size. Secondary outcomes include dietary patterns and
      accelerometer data of physical activity in a subgroup of 180 Hispanic children. Community
      participation in this project has been extraordinary and our letters of support indicate the
      communities' enthusiasm for this project.
    

Intervention name(s): Multi-Level Intervention; Genetic Newsletters
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The multi-level interventions will include activities at the individual level, family level, school level, and community level.; The comparison will receive generic newsletters
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention