A Nutrition and Parenting Program for Fathers and Their Pre-school Age Children

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Pediatric Obesity

• Registration Number: NCT03071419
• Lead Sponsor: University of Connecticut

Brief Summary

This pilot study evaluates the feasibility and impact of a father-focused childhood obesity prevention program on paternal food-related parenting practices, mealtime behaviors and father/child nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Half of participants (low-income father and child dyads) will receive an intervention immediately while the other half of participants will serve as a wait-list control group and receive the intervention at a later date.

Detailed Description

All participants (low-income father and child dyads) will receive an 8 session (2 hours/session) (DAD) including community-based, hands-on, nutrition and parent education intervention with between-session technology enhancements. Dyads will be randomly assigned within groups of 10 to DAD or a wait-list control group (DELAY). Assessments will be conducted at pre, post and 1 month post including a subset of data from cohabiting mothers to assess moderating influences on outcomes.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2016-12
• Study First Submitted: 2017-02-26
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-03-03
• Study First Posted: 2017-03-06
• Primary Completion: 2018-12-31
• Study Completion: 2019-04-30
• Status Verified: 2019-06
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-06-04
• Last Update Posted: 2019-06-05

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 72

Inclusion Criteria

• "Father" eligible for a federal food assistance or related program (e.g. SNAP) or living in an area with >30% poverty
• Having at least one preschool age child (ages 3-5 years old)
• At least 18 years of age and able to speak English

Exclusion Criteria

• No presence or interaction with child during meal or snack times.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Food-related parenting practices including parental support, control, structure, feeding

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Father & child diet quality	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Diet quality assessed using Healthy Eating Index (24 hour recall)
Father & child BMI/BMI Z-Score	Change from baseline at 8 weeks
Meals in Our Household questionnaire	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Mealtime behaviors and practices including shopping, meal planning, cooking, family meals
Healthy Kids Questionnaire	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Father and child nutrition behaviors including vegetable and sweetened beverage intake frequency \& Physical activity behaviors including play and screen time

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Hockanum School, Head Start Program; 🇺🇸 East Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Manchester Preschool Center; 🇺🇸 Manchester, Connecticut, United States