Project Description:
We propose to test the efficacy of an intervention designed to prevent obesity and increase fruit and vegetable consumption in low-income, Mexican American children by improving mothers' food-related parenting practices.
Mexican-American children are more obese than other minority groups in the U.S. population. Moreover, Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the U.S.A. Poor dietary practices, especially food habits that are acquired as families acculturate to the American food supply, are thought to be associated with children's weight. Therefore, we have developed a video/problem solving intervention that is designed to provide mothers with the skills needed to promote healthy foods to her family. After watching the video, mothers are engaged in a conversation with a community health advisor about the eating behaviors portrayed in the video that are most problematic for her family. Together, they plan strategies that mothers may implement to change her family's food habits in the upcoming weeks. This intervention has been received positively by Mexican-American mothers involved in pilot research.
We propose an experiment in which 50 families receive the video/problem solving intervention and 50 families receive an active placebo control. Mothers and their fifth grade children will be randomly selected from 8 low-wealth elementary schools. Intensive measures will be used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Children will provide height and weight measurements, 24-hour recalls, and photographic food diaries. Data collected from mothers will include height and weight, household food inventories, household food security, food purchase motives, family food interaction and acculturation.
We hypothesize that within a six month timeframe, children's whose mothers are exposed to the video/problem solving intervention will reduce their prevalence of obesity compared to children whose mothers receive the control intervention. The primary outcome variable will be body mass index. The secondary outcome will be children's fruit and vegetable consumption and energy intake. |
