Ready. Set. ACTION! A Theater-Based Obesity Prevention Program for Children
Condition: Obesity
MeSH terms: Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The goal of Ready, Set, ACTION! (RSA) is to test the feasibility of implementing a
      theater-based after-school program to promote healthy eating, physical activity, and positive
      body image with children in grades four through six.
    

Detailed description: 
      The goal of Ready, Set, ACTION! (RSA) is to test the feasibility of implementing a
      theater-based after-school program to promote healthy eating, physical activity, and positive
      body image with children in grades four through six. This study, funded by the National
      Institutes of Health (NIDDK), is a collaboration between the University of Minnesota,
      Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, Saint Paul Public Schools, and Illusion
      Theater of Minneapolis. Four participating Saint Paul schools were randomly assigned to
      receive either a control or intervention after school program led by artists/educators from
      Illusion Theater. Students in the intervention schools received a fourteen-session curriculum
      with eight booster sessions, in which they received the following messages: increase fruit,
      vegetable, and water consumption, decrease soda pop, increase physical activity, and decrease
      television. Families received nutrition and activity information packets themed for each
      session. The messages were reinforced by theater education, dance, and music. A play
      structured around the aforementioned messages that included scene vignettes, choreographed
      dance, and professionally composed music was developed and rehearsed by the children. In
      December 2006 the children performed the play for their families at Illusion Theater in
      downtown Minneapolis. They later performed for their peers at school and again for family and
      school administrators at the conclusion of the program.
    

Intervention name(s): Ready. Set. ACTION! Protocol; Control
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The intervention included three components: theater sessions; booster sessions; and family outreach. After-school theater sessions were conducted in the fall in the intervention schools. Sessions included: a "check-in" about changes made over the past week; healthy snacks; a movement component that involved fun and easy activities; and creating/education. Children at intervention schools participated in weekly after-school booster sessions in the winter to further address the behavioral messages addressed during the intervention. Throughout the program, weekly Fun & Fitness packs were sent home to families that included a healthy food with a simple recipe using that food or fitness incentives for the family. There were also two family events: a theater performance, and a reception.; The control condition also participated in a theater-based intervention that addressed a health topic unrelated to weight, hand-washing and overall personal hygiene.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention