Technology Based Obesity Prevention Project (TeBOPP)
Condition: Obesity in Children
MeSH terms: Obesity; Pediatric Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Technology-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.
    

Detailed description: 
      Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in recent years and has become the number
      one challenge among child healthcare providers in the United States. Unhealthy dietary habits
      and lack of physical activity are among the key factors attributed to increase in overweight
      and obesity rates among children and adolescents. Obesity is associated with a much higher
      risk for chronic medical conditions and increasingly diseases among the old like diabetes is
      becoming commonplace among the young. This growing epidemic may prove to have a tremendous
      societal impact and may prove to be a colossal economic and health burden in the future if it
      is not confronted aggressively at this stage. Unfortunately the obesity epidemic has affected
      the minority and socio economically deprived population in a disproportionate manner. Inner
      city Latino children and adolescents are being increasingly affected and targeted
      intervention for this population group is of paramount importance.

      In this project, we intend to study the role of an immersive video game technology using
      simulated game-based avatars to educate parents and children simultaneously about the
      importance of healthy diet and exercise, assess knowledge gained and retention and their
      change in attitudes towards adoption of a healthier lifestyle.

      Such an innovative educational model deployed using a bilingual (English/Spanish) videogame
      format which is a natural draw for this age group will likely capture their attention and be
      successful in conveying the intended message encouraging adoption of healthy diet and
      exercise. By encouraging parental participation, knowledge gained is expected to be shared
      and encourage parent-child discussion thereby fostering a team effort to combat obesity and
      promote a healthy lifestyle in the family as a whole.

      The intervention will be specifically tailored to its target population for better
      acceptance. Our patient population primarily comprises of Mexican-American children and
      families and issues relating over weight and obesity are most problematic in this population
      group. A Needs Assessment Survey will be conducted at the start of the project and
      socio-cultural attributes impacting diet and exercise habits will be assessed. This
      information will be used to address these specific issues in the game design. If this
      culturally and linguistically responsive obesity prevention educational intervention for
      Latino children and families proves a success, future research will focus on making the
      application easily downloadable on to a mobile internet device for dissemination to a much
      larger audience. Since the proposed intervention is based on the concepts of cognitive
      behavior therapy, opportunities for repeat play is likely to reinforce knowledge gain and
      encourage a positive health behavior change.
    

Intervention name(s): Video game based obesity education
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): The intervention will be in the form of a videogame in which both parent and their children will participate. The game incorporates lessons from research on avatars (e.g., the Proteus Effect), and game dynamics to explore ways to increase healthy eating and exercise.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention