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Effect of the Enhanced Summer Food Service Program on Schoolchildren

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Pediatric Obesity
Interventions
Behavioral: Intervention
Registration Number
NCT03118635
Lead Sponsor
The Miriam Hospital
Brief Summary

Convergent findings from several studies document that children, especially those who are already overweight or obese or from racial / ethnic minority groups, are at risk for accelerated weight gain during the summer months. Therefore, this project is comprised of three separate community-based interventions designed to increase access to healthy meals and physical activity opportunities to minimize excess summer weight gain in elementary school children from a diverse, low-income Rhode Island community. Specifically, we will complete a quasi-experimental study in which we will design and deliver a physical activity intervention in conjunction with the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) to 50 children living in a low-income, urban community. We anticipate that the addition of physical activity programming to the SFSP, a federal program funded by the USDA which reimburses states for serving lunch meals to children during the summer in communities where at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals, will increase both the acceptability and effectiveness of the SFSP and affect 1) physical activity levels, 2) sedentary behavior, and 3) diet quality. The primary outcome (change in BMI z-score) will be compared between the 50 kids enrolled in the active intervention and 50 children enrolled in the control condition, both recruited from the same community.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
85
Inclusion Criteria
  • Low-income (defined as qualifying for free or reduced-price meals as part of the National School Lunch Program)
  • Ages 6-12 years
  • Ability of child to speak, read and write English (for purposes of assessment and intervention)
  • Parent/guardian involvement
  • Agreement to study participation
  • Intent to participate in the SFSP in the upcoming summer
Exclusion Criteria
  • Medical condition that would interfere with participation in physical activity
  • Enrolled in a camp or other physical activity based summer program.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
InterventionInterventionDaily, four-hour physical activity intervention
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in BMI z-score over the summerThree months (summer)

BMI was measured at the baseline visit (early June 2016) and three months later at the end of the summer (late August, 2016). Outcome of interest was change (BMIz at f/u - BMIz at baseline)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Physical ActivityCross-sectional measure taken for 7 days during the window of weeks 4-6 of the 8 week intervention

Activity was measured using a wrist-worn ActiGraph for 7-days. Outcome of interest was minutes of bout-related moderate to vigorous physical activity

Sedentary BehaviorCross-sectional measure taken for 7 days during the window of weeks 4-6 of the 8 week intervention

Activity was measured using a wrist-worn ActiGraph for 7-days. Outcome of interest was percent of total wear time spent sedentary (\<100 counts/minute)

Energy intakeCross-sectional measure taken for 7 days during the window of weeks 4-6 of the 8 week intervention

Reported calorie intake from three, non-consecutive 24-hour diet recalls

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Miriam Hospital

🇺🇸

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

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