Efficacy of Nutrition and Physical Activity Counselling for Pre-adolescent Children in a Dental Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University of Toronto
- Enrollment
- 168
- Primary Endpoint
- Body Mass Index (BMI)
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Background: Childhood obesity imposes a great burden on the healthcare system. Given the increased frequency of dental compared to medical visits during childhood, dentists may be in an ideal position to recognize patients at risk of developing obesity. This randomized clinical trial explored the efficacy of a brief nutrition and physical activity counseling for healthy weight 6 to11 year-old children in a university-based pediatric dental clinic.
Methods: 168 children, 6-11 year old, were allocated to test and control groups and their Body Mass index (BMI) were recorded. Their parents/caregivers completed a questionnaire regarding their child's nutrition, physical activity and screen time. The parents/caregivers of the test group then received a brief counseling session that encouraged an increase in children's physical activity, and a decrease in sugar-sweetened beverages and screen time. Data, collected at baseline and follow-up session (within 6-12 months) were analyzed using general linear regression, adjusting for age, gender, socio-demographic characteristics, education, labour force, income and awareness of school nutrition policy (P≤ 0.05).
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 6 Years to 11 Years (Child)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •6 to 11 years old
Exclusion Criteria
- •Younger or older children
- •those with systemic diseases (such as diabetes, cardiac problems, dyslipidemia, elevated cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnea, stroke, fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, orthopedic problems and any forms of cancer)
- •Children and their accompanying parents or caregivers (hereafter, caregivers) unable to communicate in English
- •if caregivers were unreachable after three attempts by phone
Arms & Interventions
Lifestyle counseling
Intervention: Lifestyle counseling or nutrition/physical counselling
Intervention: Lifestyle counseling or nutrition/physical counselling (Behavioral)
No Intervention
To ensure that both groups benefited equally from the study, the control group received the counselling and the handouts at the end of the study.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Time Frame: 6-12 months from the baseline
Secondary Outcomes
- physical activity (hrs/day)(6-12 months)
- screen time (hrs/day)(6-12 months)
- number of sugar-sweetened beverages consumed per day(6-12 months)
Investigators
Amir Azarpazhooh
Dr.
University of Toronto