Food, Fun, & Fitness Internet Program for Girls: Outcome Evaluation

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this project is to reduce health disparities in obesity risk among 8-10 year old African American girls using a culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate internet-based program with no face-to-face interaction. This study will conduct an outcome evaluation to test short and longer term effects on obesity risk.

Detailed Description
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This research will conduct an outcome evaluation on a promising web based obesity prevention program for 8-10 year old African American girls. A pilot study with 80 girls established its feasibility: recruitment goals were met; attrition rates were < 10%; logon rates to the online program were 74.5%; and statistically significant increases in fruit and vegetable consumption and time spent being physically active were observed. The outcome evaluation will recruit 400 child-parent pairs to examine short and longer term effects of the program on obesity risk. It will also conduct mediation analyses to examine pathways of effect. At the end of the study, the web based program will be hosted on the CNRC web site. Although the use of the internet as a method for changing health behavior is not new, the use of an internet program alone, with no face to face interaction, is novel. This is one of the first programs to attempt this, particularly in an at-risk population.

Official Title
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Using Technology to Prevent Obesity Among African American Girls

Conditions
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Obesity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Food, Fun, & Fitness Internet Program for Girls


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 8-10 years old healthy African American parent willing to participate in data collection internet access personal email address Exclusion Criteria: mental, physical, or medical conditions that limit fruit-vegetable consumption, physical activity, or ability to fully participate in the program and/or complete baseline and post assessment data collection taking medications that influence dietary behaviors, appetite, and/or physical activity

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 8 Years
Maximum Age: 10 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: story plus behaviorial procedures<br>The girls randomized to this arm of the study will view an interactive story about 6 8-10 year old African American girls who seek to find clues to solve a mystery about the town in which they live. The episodes will contain information about healthy nutrition and physical activity, as well as basic information about physical activity and kitchen safety tips, developmentally appropriate recipes, and portion sizes. Girls randomized to this arm of the study will also engage in key behavior change procedures, such as goal setting, problem solving, and self monitoring. | Behavioral: Food, Fun, & Fitness Internet Program for Girls<br>* This is an 8 episode intervention, delivered entirely over the internet. Each episode, girls will view an interactive story in which 6 8-10 year old African American characters attempt to solve a mystery about their town. The online program will include information about healthy nutrition (i.e., consuming more fruit, vegetables, water) and physical activity. There will be two groups; one group (the experimental group) will view the interactive story and participate in key behavior change procedures, such as personal goal setting, problem solving, and self monitoring activities. The second group (the active comparator group) will view the online stories but will not engage in key behavior change procedures.<br>|
| Active Comparator: story only<br>The girls randomized to this arm of the study will view an interactive story about 6 8-10 year old African American girls who seek to find clues to solve a mystery about the town in which they live. The episodes will contain information about healthy nutrition and physical activity, as well as basic information about physical activity and kitchen safety tips, developmentally appropriate recipes, and portion sizes. Girls randomized to this arm of the study will not engage in key behavior change procedures, such as goal setting, problem solving, and self monitoring. | Behavioral: Food, Fun, & Fitness Internet Program for Girls<br>* This is an 8 episode intervention, delivered entirely over the internet. Each episode, girls will view an interactive story in which 6 8-10 year old African American characters attempt to solve a mystery about their town. The online program will include information about healthy nutrition (i.e., consuming more fruit, vegetables, water) and physical activity. There will be two groups; one group (the experimental group) will view the interactive story and participate in key behavior change procedures, such as personal goal setting, problem solving, and self monitoring activities. The second group (the active comparator group) will view the online stories but will not engage in key behavior change procedures.<br>|
| No Intervention: Wait list control<br>This group will participate in data collection only; after the 3rd data collection point, they will be given access to the intervention | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Body mass index percentile | height and weight will be used to calculate BMI percentile | 6 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| fruit and vegetable consumption | dietitian-assisted dietary recalls will be collected using the NDSR system; 2 recalls will be collected (1 week day and 1 weekend day) | 3 months | 
| physical activity | Accelerometers will be used to assess physical activity at each time point | 3 months | 
| self efficacy | Standard measures will be used to assess fruit, vegetable, water, and physical activity self efficacy | 3 months | 
| home availability | standard measures will be used to assess fruit, vegetable, and physical activity equipment home availability | 3 months | 
| asking behaviors | standard measures will be used to assess child fruit, vegetable, water, and physical activity asking behaviors | 3 months | 
| fruit and vegetable consumption | dietitian-assisted dietary recalls will be collected using the NDSR system; 2 recalls will be collected at each time point (1 week day and 1 weekend day) | 6 months | 
| physical activity | Accelerometers will be used to assess physical activity | 6 months | 
| self efficacy | standard measures will be used to assess fruit, vegetable, water, and physical activity self efficacy | 6 months | 
| home availability | standard measures will be used to assess fruit, vegetable, and physical activity equipment home availability | 6 months | 
| asking behaviors | standard measures will be used to assess child fruit, vegetable, water, and physical activity asking behaviors | 6 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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physical activity, fruit and vegetable, water, girls, African American, online