ABSTRACT
Objective
To assess the short-term effects of an obesity prevention program promoting eating
self-regulation and healthy food preferences in low-income Hispanic children.
Design
Randomized controlled trial with pretest, posttest, and 6- and 12-month assessments.
Setting and Participants
Head Start and similar early learning institutions in Houston, TX, and Pasco, WA. A total of
255 families with preschoolers randomized into prevention (n = 136) and control (n = 119)
groups.
Intervention
Multicomponent family-based prevention program. Fourteen waves lasted 7 weeks each
with 8–10 mother–child dyads in each group.
Main Outcome Measures
Parent assessments included feeding practices, styles, and knowledge. Child assessments
included child eating self-regulation, willingness to try new foods, and parent report
of child fruit and vegetable preferences. Parent and child heights and weights were
measured.
Analysis
Multilevel analyses were employed to consider the nested nature of the data: time
points within families within waves.
Results
The program had predicted effects on parental feeding practices, styles, and knowledge
in the pre- to post-comparisons. Effects on child eating behavior were minimal; only
the number of different vegetables tried showed significant pre-post differences.
Conclusions and Implications
Short-term effects of this prevention program highlight the importance of family-focused
feeding approaches to combating child overweight and obesity.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 10, 2020
Accepted:
December 2,
2019
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
